I'm putting this together to give an overview of the technology behind this website and app. There are some IT curious folk in the club but if you're not one of them please disregard the following.
We already had a public website at https://www.novaraiders.org.uk but it was static, one man maintained it, it offered information but no interaction. We also had a scattering of groups and pages on Facebook and elsewhere. The limitations and awkwardness had been discussed but nothing actioned. Finally a tragic event forced us to produce a replacement.
The goals for the website were
Provide a public facing view of the club
Be maintained by more than one person without deep technical knowledge
Be able to sell club subscriptions and hold the contact details of club members
Be able to sell tickets for events (inside and outside the club)
Be able to post onto multiple social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc)
Provide private chat and sharing facilities (not reliant on Facebook or other channels)
This website is built using Wix. This is a web hosting platform - we pay an annual subscription and they look after the hosting for us. The web pages are built online by using their web editor. You can add pages, elements to the pages. there are many components which are available: we use Members, Forums, Groups, Blogs, Events and Shop. This gives a basic framework for the site - just select colours and add the text copy. In reality this is rough and ready - much refinement has to be done to make it consistent and fully featured. Now it has got to this level the maintenance is really easy.
The App (Fit by Wix) that we use is generic i.e. I did not create it, just customised it. The App connects to and takes much of it configuration from your website i.e. they go hand in hand. Wix intended main audience are fitness groups (gym, yoga, pilates, spin etc) hence the name. It provides all the constituent functions to operate a small business - show schedules, book onto classes, take payments, chat and message. At present, the customisation exposes very few features - we might make more use of this in the future.
Alongside the Fit by Wix App here is a Wix Owner App. This provides access to most of the back end functions e.g. Approving members, Managing Events, Monitoring bank payments. It does some webite design (the main administration is done on PC) and it allows customisation of the Fix by Wix app. In our design the Fit by Wix shows a subset of the main website (Home, Posts, Events and Shop). The reduction in features allows members access to the commonly used aspects without cluttering the interface.
The site holds a database for the member information and can take payments. That allowed us to start our annual subscriptions this year - a massive saving of effort. I use badges to identify club members and use this to control access to certain parts of the site e.g. member only to see the ride planning communications. Our Events are managed and published too - Reliability and Celebration are already done and Giro will be later on this year. Payments are also used by Events. Most Events are open to non-members so the event areas are public access.
NRCC Website sections
Home
Rides
Posts
Groups
Gallery
Events
Blog
Social Media
FAQ
Members
Fit by Wix App sections
Home
Posts
Events
Shop
Posting Categories
Ride Planning. The chat associated with planning weekly and ad-hoc rides. Members only.
Photo Albums. Posts of photos of clubs rides. Members only.
Route Library. List of Garmin Connect routes including Event routes. Public.
Committee. Posts by the committee. Members only.
For Sale. Items for sale or want. Public.
Badges
Club Member - paid subscription. Access to member only areas
Club Guest - same access as Club Member but no subscription. Allows people to temporarily have access as a taster for full membership.
New Member - recently joined the club. Be extra helpful to these people.
Ride Leader - regularly leads rides. Can upload to the Route Library
Committee Member - on the committee
If anyone wants to know more then message me through the website.
Thank you
Mark
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