|
About the new SWA Online
The bulk of this site was build based on both user feedback and keeping an eye on the stats. Part of the design was also based on the higher level desire
for a simpler site, while also trying to retain the parts of the site that were successfully drawing attention. Those two directives conflicted with each
other so I spent a bit of time finding a way to continue to have both of them whilst still retaining the streamlined simplicity.
So, in order to build the new site, I split it into layers..
SWA Online
The core of the company. The SWA site does as it always has, gives you the latest news and info on news and events within the company.
It has upcoming shows, news and results, information and all the rest. However it’s been extremely streamlined to give the base information
without anything unessential.
It has all the basic information that any casual passer by would need on an upcoming event with all the features packed away elsewhere. More on
that in a minute…
SWA Stars
Technically part of SWA Online, the SWA roster is held on a seperate system in order to avoid clutter in the pages section of the admin panel.
Source & After Hours
It’s as it always was. Source still has all the basic information on SWA’s developmental territories and stars. It’s barely changed.
After Hours is still housed in it’s own section, but with a few visual tweaks. It's still in the finishing stages and hasn't been made priority just yet -
but the After Hours site has always exsisted to seperate the family friendly content from the adult content. So the site will basically be an information
page carrying the same event info from SWA Online but with photo galleries which are rated 'mature.
Fan Access Community
And this is the extras.
While the site was getting a lot of attention and the stats said people were coming back to read FA, so I kept it around as a sub-site to recap and review
all events within the SWA umbrella, while separating it somewhat from the main site to hide any clutter from casual viewers who just want to
know about the events themselves.
We also have new forums, new features and a new look to play with. I've went into the notes on that within the private forum alreadyso hopefully that's covered.
The SWA Network
This is the key that holds everything together. The links in the top right corner of every page hold the SWA sites in one lace, with a 'More' link where you
can gain information on all the various social networking sites.
Everyone who signs up to an SWA Account is given an account on the 'Community' sub-site. Whch means they can post in the forum as well as post comments all around the site, and if the permissions are right (high level users) they can post and edit news and such too.
Admin Functions and Wordpress MU
This was the primary reason I used this system. Wordpress is easy to learn and pick up making it one of the most user friendly softwares out there, and their
MU version allows me to achieve the bits and pieces I needed to whilst holding the site together.
Wordpress MU and it's adaptability in terms of plugins and add ons give the site the bonus of users and admn using the same function site wide. Previously
we needed one login for the forum, one to add news, another to add photos, another to do something else... and all the software used was incompatible.
Now it's a one stop source - admin can use one login to update everything. Once you've logged into the site you can use the forums, add posts, phtos, browse admin functions. The lot.
Conclusion
The overall achievement I'm looking for isn't going to happen overnight. But with a steady stream of inf heading through community in addition to constant
and speedy updates to the core site, we can gain a lot more attention in terms of search engine optimisation and make the site far more noticable online. The
sharing systems (whether they be the cross posting or use of the 'share' button) allow easier cross posting to other social networking sites which is also a big bonus.
So the core sites, SWA and Source look tidy and easy to read while the community brings people to us. All the details of that, I've mentioned so I won't repeat.
|
|
|
|
