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Home / Washington Business - May/June 2004 / Business Links: AWB.ORG Gets Face-Lift and Surpasses More Than One Million Monthly Hits |
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Business Links: AWB.ORG Gets Face-Lift and Surpasses More Than One Million Monthly Hits |
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Written On: May/June 2004 |
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Written By: by Alexis Nepomuceno |
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Easier-to-follow menus, more relevant links and a new Elections Guide are just some of the new features of the redesigned www.awb.org. The face-lift was also greeted by a major benchmark — the first one million hits within one month.
“One million hits is a major milestone for the Association of Washington Business (AWB) and its online efforts,” said AWB President Don Brunell. “The Internet is really the most cost-effective way for us to reach our members and the rest of the business community; and more business people are preferring to get their information over the Web.”
From every page of www.awb.org, users will be able to search the entire site or the entire Internet (via Google Web Search). Site patrons will also be able to easily find their state legislator, congressional representative or statewide elected official thanks to a new, robust Microsoft database system (MS SQL) that stores most of the information found on the site.
The legislator search feature has also been tightly integrated with AWB’s new online Elections Guide (www.awb.org/elections/index.asp), which is the state’s most comprehensive online elections resource targeted towards the business community.
The Elections Guide includes interactive features and supplementary information provided through BIPAC's Prosperity Project (More information at www.bipac.org). However, the majority of the new information and functionalities was compiled and custom-developed by AWB.
To create an online experience that is easy to understand and makes clear where users are at every step, AWB set up its new site to focus on issues rather than technical terms. AWB also built in a more consistent navigational structure, while maintaining a clean and professional look throughout the site. A priority of the redesign was to bring as much information to the main page as possible while keeping the format simple.
“Before the redesign, it took four or more clicks to access detailed information on a specific issue,” said Brunell. “Now, it takes a single click off the home page to get to that information.”
The new site offers easier access to mission-critical policy information, such as Washington state business news and related resources. Important links have been made more prominent through strategic placement and graphics.
Washington state businesses have used www.awb.org since it launched in 1997 as the source for policy developments and legislative activities. Over the past three years, the site’s traffic has increased tenfold, receiving over one million hits in March.
Development of the new AWB Web site began in January 2004 and entailed the migration of more than 2,500 separate pages. The entire redesign and new technology integration was completely done in-house by the AWB communications department.
Register to Vote Online!
AWB and BIPAC have combined efforts on the Prosperity Project, which provide tools that help companies and associations educate and motivate their employees regarding candidates, issues and elections. One of the most significant tools is online voter registration.
Each and every election, at least one hundred million Americans don't vote. The online voter registration system encourages employees and customers to vote by making it easy to register over the Web. Moreover, research shows that employees who receive Prosperity Project information from their employers are 15% to 30% more likely to vote!
Check out AWB's Election Guide and BIPAC's voter registration system at www.awb.org/elections.
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