The latest demonstration version of the new website, Demo 5,  has been up for the last week for Board and trusted servant's reveiw.  

Main Site

We are currently combing through the pages to make sure that all the links are correct as well as fine tuning some of the finer points.

The main site should be completed in the next couple of weeks or so.  We will not roll this out until all the other parts of the site are ready to be rolled out because references to the shopping cart in the main site would not flow to the new shopping cart and from the programming side be more difficult to manage, so we are told.

Highlights

  • Drop down menus for the top navigation have been added
  • Search functionality allows users to find what they are looking for from the entire site or in individual locations e.g. repository or main site or shopping cart.
  • What's New will automatically show the user any new pages that have been added to the website in the last 30 days.
  • Pictures from the meditation book have been added to give the pages a memorable touch and pop.
  • Best Practices will allow groups and intergroups to post their group-conscious-decided best practices and generate an immediate notice to the Board for review and allows  groups and intergroups to report inappropriate posting if their group conscious decides to make such report.  No feedback, cross talk, input will be allowed.
  • Multilingual Page - will feature translations of our free downloadable literature items in Russian, German, Danish, Finnish, Polish and Spanish.  All other languages are invited to send along their translations for inclusion.

Shopping Cart

The x-cart folks are adding Sure Post (UPS) and the paper order form, and should deliver it to us by late July or early August.  This will allow members to see the lower rates we have negotiated with our main shipping vendor.  Centauria will then make a minor change to the top of the x-cart page to make sure that the header look similar to our main site's header.  That will complete the programming side of the x-cart.

They have removed all reference to Facebook, Twitter, and x-cart in keeping with our traditions.  

Centauria has activated the module that allows us to have orders of 20 or more books, be they meditation books, BRB, or workbooks, and get the 10% discount.  

X-cart comes with an ability for us to designate certain purchasers as wholesale purchasers in the event that we decide to offer a deeper discount to intergroups.  Expected completion is mid August.

The staff uploaded all the of our goods into x-cart.  The staff has also begun to insert the goods' descriptions, upload current photos, and designate special rules e.g., 20+ books received a 10% discount.  Once the x-cart is turned over to us, the staff may need a few weeks or months to become fully acquainted with the operation of the new x-cart before we can launch, projected to be whenever the staff is comfortable switching over to the x-cart.

Meeting List 

The Meeting List design is in place.  The landing page will feature three options: 1) Find A Meeting; 2) Register a new Meeting and 3) Change a Meeting Information.  Next comes the programming.  We have already cleared up the results page so that the user can click and print a clean meeting results page.  Staff has provide samples of current letters and notices.  The registration form will require the member to insert all fields before it will be be accepted. 

Meeting Directory Special Worker will receive e-mails when a new meeting is entered and will validate the entries are correct and in conformance with The WSO Policy for Listing Meetings before publishing.

The meeting list registration and meeting information change functionality will allow users to input their data directly in to the final form it will take on the site.  It will generate a notice to Meeting Directory Special Worker indicating that there is a new item to be approved for posting.  The Meeting Directory Special Worker will then review, assure it is in conformance with The WSO Policy for Listing Meetings, and click to approve it for posting versus what she now does which is to cut and paste the information into the meeting list database.

Cost

We have asked Centauria to provide an estimate of the work/cost that remains to be done.  Currently, they still have funds from our previous payment, but we wanted to get a better picture of the cost of the remaining work.

Additional items not covered under the original Scope of work.

We have asked them to give us a quote to allow mass mailing to be done with a few clicks so that e-mails for the ABC and the ComLine, etc. do not consume a lot of time or energy.

We have also asked for a  quote (which they say will be a nominal cost), to develop a map that will show where meetings are across the world and allow the user to click on our logo and get the information about that meeting.  This may include intergroups and regions as well.

Additionally, we have asked them to quote adding an audio uploading functionality.  For the ACA History project this will give users the ability to upload their shares about how the ACA program came into existence in their part of the world in their native tongues.  The working title (which is not the final ) "From the Mouths of Babes:  ACA History". 

Regions

We have asked for a quote on this, but they need me to explain the parameters before they can price the work.  The Board has not determined how to address the Region service structure.

So far we have discussed generating a jurisdictional map versus allowing regions to self define themselves and bringing it to the fellowship for approval.  In the box of material  we recently received, we already have a US map that we can use to "re-district" the Regions.  We chatted about, but haven't decided, of having the work done, but keeping it hidden from the public or inactive until we are ready to roll it out.  (MaryJo) 

We have also talked about keeping the Regional registration separate (Joan).  

The discussion also highlighted that Regions are mentioned throughout our literature (Vonnie).

We will offer a specific concurrence on this so we can make a decision on this.

Time for lunch,

L