The RecWebsites.com Blog

Customer Service in a Digital Age

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:06:46 +0000

Earlier this month I had the privilege of speaking at the NRPA Annual Congress & Exposition. I've updated my presentation with some additional notes and comments so that it makes a little more sense without the session audio. You can navigate the presentation below (be patient, it may take a minute to load).

Customer Service in a Digital Age on Prezi

Burlington Recreation Website Launched!

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:58:47 +0000

Today we launched the new website for the Burlington, MA Recreation Department! The site features a scrolling banner on the homepage, a document manager, weather module, a facebook fan box, contact and work order forms...all in addition to the powerful Joomla content management system and K2 content construction component. The department was great to work with. We are excited about the direction they wanted to go with the style and look forward to continuing to work with the department.

Take it Easy on the Fonts!

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Sun, 29 May 2011 01:19:27 +0000

The subject of typography comes up in nearly every website I design. The discussion is usually twofold:

Education - Explaining how typography works on the web.
Persuasion - Why you shouldn't use 10 different fonts, 6 font sizes and 5 different colors for one post.

Typography on the Web

Using fonts on the web is not as simple as using fonts on your favorite word processor.

It used to be that there were only a handful of fonts that you could use in designing a website. This was because your browser loads the fonts for a website from those installed on your personal computer. So, if someone created a webpage using a font called "Chalkboard" and you didn't happen to have "Chalkboard" installed on your computer, the page you would see would look different from what the designer had intended. For this reason designers could only select from certain "web/browser safe fonts" that were commonly installed across all operating systems. This made things simple...but also a bit boring.

Recently there have been a number of developments that will allow you to use specific fonts on your website, without concern of your visitors seeing something different. Basically these fonts are loaded from the server of a particular service (such as Google Web Fonts) rather from the user's computer. This allows much more flexibility and customization for your website...but with that privilege comes a lot of responsibility.

Appropriate Use of Typography on the Web

Resist the urge to use the crazy fonts, flashy graphics, and varying colors on your website! Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Yes, you may think it looks cute and grabs the visitors attention...but trust me, 99.9% of your visitors aren't going to appreciate it the way that you do!

Keep it simple

Only use a few fonts on your site. Have a reason for using each.

Use the fancy stuff sparingly

If you are going to use a custom font (i.e. a font from Google Web Fonts), use it for your header or content headings...don't use it across the board. Not only is it a bit overkill, your site may load slower as a result. Every time you are going to deviate from the norm it should be with purpose.

Be consistent

The headers should all use the same font and styling. The body should all be the same font (with styling such as bold, italics, etc. used sparingly). Links within the content of your site should be the same color. You should be consistent in the font sizes that you use for body text, headings, quotes, etc. The readability of your site goes downhill quickly when you start getting creative with your fonts and styling.

Less is almost always more

As tempting as it may be to use all caps, increase the font size, write a caption in "comic sans," use pink highlights or use glittery text...DON'T!! Each little element you add competes for the visitors attention and draws them away from the text.

PEASE DON'T DO THIS!!!

So, take it easy on the fonts! Don't get carried away!

For the possible typography geek or computer nerd that is reading this post...this was not intended to be a deep or technical post. Yes, some things were over-simplified and other thoughts could have been developed much further.

Any Off-Road Triathletes Out There?

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:12:49 +0000

I just recently updated the XTERRA Race at the Reservoir website with a new look and thought I'd share. I love the way it turned out. The dark design with great photography made for a great combination. This is a great event for any die-hard triathletes! The second-highest satisfaction rating for XTERRA competitions across the country.

Montpelier Recreation Department Website Launched

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 04:12:07 +0000

The Montpelier Recreation and Parks Department website was launched today. The home page features a slideshow, the weather forecast, a news-style content layout, a facebook "like-box", and various social media links. The content management system allows for uploading photos, photo gallies, and embedding video. Links within the site content will tie directly to their corresponding WebTrac online registration system. The site also features google calendar integration and an interactive map of parks and facilities.

Website Traffic Doubles!

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:13:59 +0000

The Essex Junction Recreation and Parks Department website was launched in March 2010. We are very pleased to report that use of the EJRP website has more than doubled when comparing July 2010 visits and pageviews to July 2009!

A Quick Update...

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:06:02 +0000

RecWebsites.com is working with two new clients this month. We anticipate competing their sites by mid-September. Photos and links will be posted at that time.

RecWebsites.com has also brought on a few part-time developers to help get our current and future sites off the ground quickly. It is exciting to see our team grow!

The Recreation 2.0 Social Network

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:46:09 +0000

In late 2008 I developed a social network for parks and recreation professionals called "Recreation 2.0" or "Rec2.0." Membership and use of the site was free. Developing the site was a way for me to give back and try to meet a need in my profession. It was also an opportunity to push myself further as a website developer. The site saw a decent amount of activity through the spring of 2009 with more than 200 members. Use of the site tapered-off significantly during the busy summer months and did not increase much through the fall. A few other recreation networking sites popped-up in early 2009 that also had some initial momentum; but, from what I can tell, they have not seen significant use in quite some time. The NRPA group on LinkedIn is the one place that has seen a moderate amount of participation (a few discussions/comments a week).

By the fall of 2009 I was at a crossroads...I now had the tools and knowledge to make the Rec 2.0 network more powerful and user-friendly, but I also was hesitant to invest significant time into further developing the site due to the lack of professionals aware of these sites or willing to interact online. My feeling was, and still is, that most professionals are accustomed to consuming information online but are not yet comfortable creating or sharing online. If improved information sharing was going to happen it would require the involvement of NRPA to help change that mindset and push it's thousands of members towards online interaction.

It just so happened that NRPA was in the early stages of developing their social network. I did not know much about it at the time, but I decided that rather than trying to compete with their efforts I would let Recreation 2.0 fade away. It was a difficult decision as I had invested a lot of time into the site, but it seemed to be the best decision. The site was taken offline in April.

The NRPA network has been up and running for several months now. They have just announced the creation of "networks" or "groups" that, as I understand it, will be taking the place of the various branches that used to exist. It seems that they are now going to begin pushing for more member involvement. If you are a NRPA member I would encourage you to register and check it out.

My opinion of NRPA's network is mixed. I am very excited about the direction they are going. They have a tremendous amount of potential given the number of members in the organization. At the same time (without sounding too critical) I am disappointed with the product. The task of motivating thousands of people to begin interacting on their network is a big one, especially as a large percentage of these members are not accustomed to this type of interaction. In order to be successful the user interface needs to be simple and intuitive. Sadly this is not the case. I found it to be quite confusing...and I consider myself to be one of the more tech-savvy people in the profession. The good news is that the networks were just launched. I am sure that NRPA will be tweaking the design, fixing bugs, and responding to user feedback in the coming weeks and months.

So...goodbye Recreation 2.0, hello NRPA networks. Go give it a try. If you get frustrated there is always LinkedIn :)

First RecWebsites.com Site a Big Success

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:46:35 +0000

The Essex Junction Recreation and Parks website was launched one month ago. The reviews have been excellent! People love the clean, attractive design as well as the many features. The interactive brochure has been great for marketing our programs. The use of photo galleries and digital video really enhance the site. We've received some constructive criticism which has helped us to better organize the site content and make program information available with fewer clicks.

Over the last month we have built-in a few new features that will make it into the core RecWebsites package. The two new standouts are visible on the homepage (pictured above). The weather module shows the current conditions at the park as well as the forecast for the next few days. This component has been styled to fit in with the site design beautifully.

The featured program module is an improvement over what we started with. Originally the content for this rotating module had to be added seperately (text entered and a photo specifically sized to fit). With the new module, all you need to do is toggle the "featured" checkbox on any existing website content and it will automatically pull the photo and text into the rotation. Sooo much simpler! A great way to advertise programs and keep the site fresh with minimal effort.

One last feature that has been a hit (and a big help to the department) is the feedback component. Visitors to the site are able to make a program or park suggestion. Their suggestion is then posted on the site for other community members to vote or comment on. The department has received many great program suggestions and has already begun planning several programs that were suggested on the website. This has proven to be a great way to give the community a voice and allow them to watch their suggestions become a reality.

For more information on RecWebsite.com features visit: http://recwebsites.com/features.

Upgrade your Department: Tools for 2010 (slides & audio)

ryanhegreness@gmail.com (Ryan Hegreness) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:44:29 +0000

I finally got around to turning my Northern New England session into a slideshare presentation. It has been great to hear how many people enjoyed this presentation and plan to implement some of the ideas in their department! Please feel free to share this slideshare presentation with anyone - email it, link to it, tweet about it, embed it on a state association website, etc. I would love for as many people to benefit from this as possible!

Topics include: Slides 1-13: Introduction - Why talk about technology in parks and recreation - A look at generation/census data and the implications for parks and recreation

Upgrade Your Department: Tools for 2010 (Parks and Recreation)

More presentations by Ryan Hegreness/Catamount Web Solutions, LLC on Slideshare.

Presentation Topics

(1-13) Introduction:

Why talk about technology in parks and recreation
A look at generation sizes/characteristics and the implications for parks and recreation