England XIV who have 44 members recently had a complete rebuild of their website and several recruiting posters. Although the old site was quite modern and visual some members thought it was not easy to find specific information, and as many of their members used social media some questioned if the chapter really needed a website. Chapter webmaster Chris Davies who once worked professionally in web design gave his reasons for the chapters need to have a website and marketing material; this was discussed at the recent chapter directors meeting and the consensus was that the website was indeed needed but should be redesigned. Chris then set to work on platform amends, database and then rebuilding the site including a members section with past magazine articles, event and ride-out information, plus a shop, bike photo gallery and a number of posters.
The result has been well received by the board of directors and the members, in having an attractive and clean looking site with a good navigation structure and lots of content. Chris says “As a former web designer for a large international company I understand the importance of having a website, the less Blue Knights websites there are then the less of a presence we have on the internet. Social media is important but as a corporate entity you should have a website if you wish to deal with professional organisations or to portray your brand effectively. There are companies and organisations that actually forbid their members/employees to use social media due to the risks, so not having a site does restrict you gaining a presence to attract potential members. It is also important not to have a dated website as web and hosting technology changes quickly which could see you having security vulnerabilities in your site or losing some functionality if its technology becomes deprecated. You should also look to have a site design that will appeal to your visitors and keep them engaged. I would urge all chapters to invest in having a decent website”.
The posters which can be downloaded from our membership page have also been well received and are now being used by a number of chapters via their sites and social media.
