The Wei Wai Kum Nation has launched a re-designed website. The new www.weiwaikum.ca site actually hosts two, audience-specific websites: one for members and one for the general public.
“The idea is to make it as easy as possible for people to find the information they’re looking for,” said Communications Coordinator Stephanie Slater, who managed the project working with the Comox Valley website designers The Update Company.
With this approach, the general public, government, industry and funding partners land on a simple website that explains who the Wei Wai Kum are and what economic development is underway, reinforcing the Band’s “open for business and prosperity” message.
The top of every page has a prominent link to the members’ site, giving members direct access to the information they need and want, such as news, event listings, job postings, and information about all the Band’s programs and services for members.
Most of the information on the member website is openly available, however there is also a password-protected area for logged-in members where the Band posts information such as meeting minutes, policies, and reports to the membership. Members with email addresses on file with the Band will be able to log onto the members site and will automatically receive a weekly e-newsletter – an electronic variation of the print version distributed to households on reserve.
“This will allow us to communicate better with Band members who live off reserve and also with those who prefer to get information electronically,” said Stephanie.
The new website works on a range of desktop, mobile and other devices, a function missing in the old site, which was developed in 2009. That is very old in web terms and the previous website platform was deteriorating and was no longer supported technically.