style and structure
The new site has had a visual facelift to freshen the style and improve functionality. The screen format has been changed to
three columns which expand and contract in width with the screen or window size. The header block has also been reduced in height. All of this means that there is more usable space on the screen especially for users with screens set at higher resolution.
A new drop-down menu system has been implemented to reduce the number of clicks required to get to a given destination. The
menu structure is now contained in the database and this means that it is simple to add a new button or menu item as it just needs
updating once and it will then appear on all pages.
The website has also become more photo-intensive. We are encouraging all members to upload a passport-style photo of themselves
and this will be used wherever members are referenced e.g. as a club officer or tournament winner.
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new functionality
We have added the full list of VCA members to the site with handicap details and the facility for the adding of a
biography and past successes and representitive honours. A profile page is available for every member to show the above
information and this can be accessed by clicking on anywhere the member's photo appears. It can also be accessed via the
club members list from the appropriate club webpage.
The club updating page has been improved so that it now appears in a similar format to the clubpage making it much
easier to understand what the changes will look like. The club officers (and soon tournament winners) can now
only be picked from a drop-down list. This means that the correct ACA ID number goes into the database but also ensures
that peoples names are spelt consistently as they are always drawn from the database. If the spelling in the database is
wrong it can be easily corrected which will then correct the spelling wherever the name is used.
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what's coming next?
We have some bigger plans for the website which will be implemented before (or during in some cases) the 2009/10 season.
To continue the photo-rich theme we plan to add a facility for clubs and tournament manager to add photo galleries relating to
and appropriately linked from specific clubs and events etc.
There is already facility for tournament managers to upload block results in pdf format and this also can be latest scores
from ongoing events. The major plan we have, however, is to provide a function where tournament scores can be updated live
in a block or knockout format via the website into the database. This will give a great deal more data that can be summarised
on the player profile pages and will also give a very interactive latest scores service for events where an internet connection
is available on-site. This was something that several users have asked for, particularly for the big events at Cairnlea.
The tournament results section of the website will be updated to cater better for doubles tournaments.
There will be a separate, smart, new website for the Victorian Croquet Centre at Cairnlea. This will be concentrated at
external users and potential hirers of the facility and should help generate more income from the facility.
A new area of the site will be created to cater for prospective players. This will mean that the main site will be primarily
for existing members and can be designed to meet their needs. The prospective players area will have simple information
on the games of croquet and instructions on how and where to get started.
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