Online Training Course
In November 2006, AAVC released a self-paced online training course for Web Content Managers to teach them how to edit and update their club/regional network website pages. It includes a downloadable reference document.
How to Maintain and Update Your Club or Regional Network Website
As of April 2006, every club and regional alumnae/i network now has a basic club/regional network website consisting of five "tabs" or "pages" in a new template design contained within AAVC's new website, which expand vertically to accommodate added content (see example below). These club/regional network websites are behind authentication; that is, only registered members of AAVC's Online Community can access the websites and their content, by logging in.
The following describes the basic content added by AAVC to each page of a club/regional network website, and what your club/regional network web content manager(s) can edit/update:
- Home: Club/regional network demographics, updated by AAVC staff twice a year for the ten largest clubs/networks and once a year for all other clubs/networks, links to other areas of the AAVC website, and messages generated by AAVC are in the top part of this page. The rest of the page may be filled with any other content/images desired by your club/regional network (the template will expand vertically to accommodate the content).
- Events/Activities: This page lists your upcoming club/regional network events, with links for further details, and/or online registration. This is a non-editable page (events must be submitted to AAVC for inclusion in AAVC's master online Calendar of Activities and this page).
- Discussion Group: Discussion groups are electronic mailing lists to which your members may subscribe to discuss matters of common interest. This page is pre-filled by AAVC with relevant discussion group information, but your group can change it, if desired.
- Miscellany: This is a catch-all page that may not contain any initial content (other than a sentence stating there is no content for this page). AAVC staff has added a list of local website resources to the top 20 most visited club/regional websites. AAVC suggests using this page to post information/photos about an upcoming or recent event, or information/links to resources for alumnae/i living in the club/regional area.
- Contact Us: For clubs, a list of your club officers and other club volunteers is on this page, initially without contact information. Club web content managers are urged to edit/update this information to include the preferred contact information for your club officers and volunteers. For regional networks, this page contains information on how to contact AAVC if you wish to get involved in your area.
What You Need To Do To Maintain/Update Your Website:
- Select a club officer or a regional club member to be your web content manager, responsible for editing/updating your club or regional network website pages. Your web content manager does NOT need to know HTML, but merely needs to have internet access and a browser, with the ability to use a Word-like interface for adding and updating content. (If you do not have anyone to be your club/regional network web content manager, AAVC can update your content for you.)
- Have your web content manager(s) take AAVC's self-paced, online training course.
- Prepare content (text and/or photos) for your Home, Miscellany, and Contact Us pages, and provide it to your web content manager(s).
- Any questions, contact the AAVC's Associate Director of Alumnae/i Web Services, Susan Brkich, at subrkich@vassar.edu.