Search results matching tag 'Website'

The quest for DB websites: SharePoint, Joomla and LAMP...

wbruce — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:59:00 GMT

For well over a year we’ve been working on finding ways to help our district branches with website hosting. Initially, we sought out to develop a lightweight content management system for smaller branches who have limited or no websites. What we come up with was a nice little application that was quite easy to use, but never caught on. It suffered from being too limited and lacked many features that DBs want.

Last summer, several branches submitted infrastructure grant requests for web design and development work. Most of them were well thought out and had clear and reasonable goals, but were not individually unique. Rather than funding several small development efforts, we elected to revisit the APA provided option and explore ways to improve it so that it would be more attractive. Ultimately, we decided to scrap our internal work and opt for an outside vendor.
Last week, we approved a work order with Susquehanna, a local SharePoint Integrator. They will be building a portal system based on Microsoft SharePoint server that will allow district branches to have full-featured websites that include many of the same features found on www.psych.org such as member directory, member’s areas, and easy content management. We are working with a small group of branches in the pilot and development of this and hope to make significant progress before the annual meeting.

Alternatively, we have been working with Dr. Sharmat to provide hosted sites on a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server using the open source content management system Joomla. This system is now available and we can host a few sites if any district branches want to experiment with it. Joomla is similar in approach to our initial work, but much more full featured. It is a good tool for creating a web presence, but has limitations as well. Key among them is its lack of integration with our back office member data, so testers will need to keep that in mind.

The New York work in progress can be viewed here.

Anyone interested in having a LAMP based Joomla site setup can contact me for details.

Psych.org was completely updated this week...

wbruce — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:59:00 GMT

After nearly fifteen months of planning and development, the joint project between Information Technology and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs is finally out of the box. The APA now has a new website and for the first time in its history, the site is backed by a full--featured content management system. The previous site consisted of more than 30,000 files and all content was managed individually by staff. All pages were "hand-coded" and all content required several iterations of quality checks. The new site uses the GM5 content management system form Syscom and integrates with the association management system in our back-office.

Once all the launch-day glitches were resolved, I began thinking about how far the site has come over the years and decided to dig up some history...

The first APA website was launched in 1996:

It received its first makeover in 1997:

Then in 1998, the APA settled on this general feel which lasted for several years:

In early 2002, the site was given a much needed update:

Then in late 2003, we arrived at this:

...which was updated slightly in 2006 to this:

Now, once again we've updated the site and it has again improved in many ways. So far, the overwhelming majority of feedback has been positive. Some aspects of the site may take some getting used to. Aside from having a much more modern "look and feel," the new site is a huge step away from the old navigation system. Most of the previous versions of the site took an organizational chart perspective to grouping information, but the new site is our first attempted at audience based navigation. We believe this is a more efficient approach to navigation and that the majority of our users will adapt quickly. Time will be the real measure though...

I am already thinking of what should come next for the site. There are a few nifty technologies on the horizon that may mature into real opportunities in a year or so. But for now, feel free take a look at the new www.psych.org and let us know what you think. You can post a comment to this blog or you can fill out the feedback form here.

www.psych.org is getting a much needed update...

wbruce — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:11:00 GMT

We have been working hard over the past year on updating our primary website. Many have noted the site's various shortcomings and we have gone to great lengths to provide a fresh image and new features to the website.

From the Office of Communications and Public Affairs:

On February 6, the American Psychiatric Association will debut its new association Web site (www.psych.org). The redesigned site will feature a user-friendly and updated format, better search capability and new and updated content. The Web site will be a resource for physician members and other mental health providers and those seeking information on psychiatry and mental health. Please note that as part of this transition, the Web site will be down for several hours on February 6 beginning at 10 am EST

Got an opinion about the site? Post a comment below...