The brief
Because of my passion for waka ama paddling and my involvement in the club, we offered to create the new website for Maitahi Outrigger Canoe Club as part of our ongoing community engagement.
Maitahi had an old website that was built in Silverstripe. It was not mobile responsive and quite hard for club members to update. They wanted a more modern look.
Our Strategy
We built a new WordPress website using the Beaver Builder Theme and Beaver Builder page builder plugin. This makes the website much easy to keep up to date.
It was a great project. The content was mostly copied from the old website with more information added in. I was lucky to be able to collect a number of amazing photos that really portray the whanau atmosphere and the joy we get from paddling with Maitahi.
Making it easier to keep up to date
Download Manager for PDFs
We used the Download Manager plugin to manage all the pdf downloads for the resources, committee minutes and other documents on the website. The downloadable files are put into categories and called with a shortcode. This means that new PDFs can be uploaded and will automatically be included in the appropriate place on the website without having to edit the page and add them individually.
Online forms for easier record keeping
We created GravityForms for tracking membership details which has made life much easier for the membership officer, the treasurer and the secretary, as they all receive copies and know who has joined or renewed their membership for the year. People who fill it in are also added automatically to our MailChimp newsletter list
We also created a form so new and visiting paddlers can contact the person who organises our social paddles on a Sunday morning.
We also included a form on the “What’s On” page so people who are interested in giving waka ama a go can fill it out without having to troll through the website to find out how to contact us. It has been really successful and we are getting about 3 to 4 enquiries per month through that form.null
The Events Calendar plugin to manage what’s on
Maitahi members love to know what is going on so we put The Events Calendar plugin in to manage events. There are 2 categories, one for waka events and one for social events to make it easier to find events.
Great photos make all the difference
A big thank you has to go out to Carlos Olavarria for his amazing photography which has really captured the spirit of the sport.
Great Feedback
We have had great feedback about this website from members and from visiting paddlers. You can have a look at the website at Maitahi Outrigger Canoe Club website. Come for a paddle one day!
…As a paddler and educator I have looked at a lot of different websites and am thoroughly impressed with the layout and in depth information you have on your site… You make it very easy to navigate the site and it is visually pleasing. The depth of information you have added along with club expectations you are to be commended.
Pam
