By Florence Scialom, FrontlineSMS Community Support Coordinator
Throughout 2011, FrontlineSMS has supported an increasingly global and active community of those using our software for social change. We also have a growing team working on improving our software, our resources and our sector-specific projects. We have therefore decided to update our website layout to more effectively represent all of this, and much more! Hopefully the website now more effectively introduces who we are and what we do, and also better represents our vibrant user community too. Below you can find a summary of the website's new layout, and a description of how to navigate the new content.
We have made these changes in preparation for a more significant website re-design due in 2012. Your views are important to this process, so it would be great if you provide us with some feedback here; share your opinion on the current changes, and let us know what you would like to see more of in the future!
Summary of current changes
The About us section explains who we are and what we do as an organization. You can find new content on how FrontlineSMS was first created and the awards we have received for our work since we started out in 2005. You can also find information on our sector-specific projects, our team and opportunities to join our team, and last - but not least - our valued supporters who make all that we do possible. We hope this section provides you with a clear introduction to our work.
FrontlineSMS software is purposefully designed to be easy to access and set up. The software section of the website is where you can download FrontlineSMS software and get started! This section also introduces some of our software functionality, explains the phones or modems you can use to get started, how to upgrade from previous versions and also how to use our data collection tool, FrontlineForms. Watch this space for upcoming content on our new software release due in 2012.
We are currently in the process of building up a growing collection of resources to help enable people and organizations to make use of our software successfully. We have divided our resources into easily accessible sections on getting started, managing your data, and data integrity. If you are stuck, then you can visit the Help page for a summary of all free resources and support available to you. You can expect to see more of our growing selection of resources published here in 2012, too.
This is a brand new section on our site, aiming to highlight the fantastic and innovative work done by FrontlineSMS users across the world. You can check out the growing collection of user guest posts and case studies, as well as see a world map of those who have downloaded and are actively using FrontlineSMS across the world. You can also find photos, video and audio from our team and our users, and you can also check out our amazing FrontlineSMS Heroes – those interns and volunteers who help support FrontlineSMS’s global presence. If you’re using FrontlineSMS for your work visit this section to find out all the ways you can get involved!
Another brand new section of the site; the press section is for those interested in keeping up to date with recent FrontlineSMS news and events. You will find our press kit page, which provides an easily accessible summary of the main areas of our work. You will also find summaries of the many external publications which have featured FrontlineSMS; including academic articles, books and reports. In addition we now have an events calendar, which may be quiet at the moment due to the upcoming holiday season but in 2012 will quickly be filled with events which FrontlineSMS have organized or are speaking at. There is also an option to contact us from the press page, and this is where you will find all general contact information, too.
FrontlineSMS is open source software, so here you will find access to our source code freely available and this can be modified to your heart's content! From this page you can also find out how to connect with our developer team.
Here you can expect the same regular and engaging posts from the FrontlineSMS team and guest posts from our buzzing user community. If you are using FrontlineSMS and would like to contribute to our blog then get in touch!
Our vibrant community forum continues to grow. We now have well over 2,000 members, who engage daily on the many uses of FrontlineSMS software. A recent additional feature on the forum is a "meet-ups" group, where those interested in FrontlineSMS can suggest opportunity to get together with others in their local region who are using or planning to use our software.
What’s in store for 2012
In the near future you can expect more user resources and case studies, as well as exciting updates on the software section as we prepare for a new release in 2012. In 2012 we will be preparing for a major website re-design, and we want to hear from you on the features you would like to see. So use our feedback function here to comment on current changes and make suggestions for future too! We look forward to hearing from you!
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Huge thanks go to Lisa La Rochelle and Tim Howe for their amazing support in making these changes to our site! And thanks to all others who contributed their ideas and feedback, too. We look forward to improving our website further in 2012!
