The new website is designed to better meet the needs of members and specifiers.
NPCA Staff Report
At the end of 2013, we excitedly reported that precast.org had exceeded 500,000 page views for the first time. Expectations for 2014 were high, but we could not have predicted what occurred. Last year, website traffic skyrocketed and page views ended up just shy of 750,000.
The 50% increase in traffic reinforces a decision the NPCA Board of Directors made earlier in 2014 to invest in the future of the NPCA website with a complete redesign. The goals of the redesign include bringing the most important programs of the association to the forefront, providing easier navigation and better access to members, updating the look and feel, placing more emphasis on imagery and, perhaps most importantly, making the site more mobile friendly.
The time was right and the new precast.org is a modern, informative and useful website that will serve member needs and educate the general public about the benefits of precast concrete.
Why is precast.org so important?
NPCA was founded to represent members and their precast concrete products. The website has become an increasingly important part of that effort as the site ranks high in search results for a wide range of topics relating to the precast industry. Once visitors arrive at the website, it must keep their attention, provide them with the right information and also lead them to find NPCA members. If not, a major opportunity is lost.
What makes this site better than the last one?
The last version of precast.org was launched more than four years ago and a lot has changed since then. More than ever, people today prefer succinct copy and large images. Additionally, design preferences have shifted and developers have new tools to enhance the user experience.
The first thing you’ll notice on the new precast.org is a home page that emphasizes the most important aspects of NPCA. Front and center, you’ll find precast products, resources for members, plant certification, education, meetings and publications. Visitors can find NPCA members in the main menu, which remains at the top of the page even after scrolling down.
We have also reworked internal pages to communicate the most important facts while placing emphasis on images to help tell the story. The product pages provide visitors with additional related content and links to key documents such as technical papers or specifications which are presented in a more visual way.
All of this and much more provides a seamless experience on the site and ensures we get the right message across.
Mobile
In addition to the visual and organizational changes, the site provides an entirely new experience for mobile visitors. The number of mobile visitors per year has nearly quadrupled since 2012.
Precast.org is now built on a responsive framework so the site adapts to the size of the display screen the visitor is using. On tablets, the site remains largely the same with subtle changes to optimize the experience. On a phone, the site transforms drastically to ensure visitors can quickly scroll and find what they are looking for.
Let us know what you think
Precast.org is a major voice for the precast industry. It is important to have a strong online presence that effectively reaches visitors on any device. The site must accomplish the goals of NPCA members to succeed. If you see ways to improve the site, please don’t hesitate to let NPCA staff know.
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