# Old Arupians Community Website (2006)
URL: https://www.associativetrails.com/work/oldarupians2006/
Client: Arup
Type: Community website
Summary: Fostering community fellowship — A thorough refresh of one of our most venerable and successful projects. Now fully responsive and even easier to use.

## The challenge

Arup wanted a simple and secure way for retired ex-employees to keep in touch with each other and stay abreast of the latest company news. Community members needed to be able to keep their own contact details updated without having to learn new technical skills.

## The solution

The password-protected community website includes sections for latest news, events, a contacts directory and an area where members can download the latest Arup publications in PDF format. All content administration is performed via simple web forms and all users can add their own news items, events and keep their contact details up to date.

Our research into web interfaces for older users helped us design a simple and effective interface, with Arup's in-house graphic designers providing colour, typography and logos.

> “Thank you very much for helping us to reach this milestone. Without your patience, wonderful expertise and hard work we would still be dreaming about it..” — Barbara Miller, Arup.

## The outcome

The site went live in good time for the Old Arupians 2006 annual meeting, with the RSVP functionality proving particularly useful.

Barbara Miller of Arup continues: "I would also add that the website has already paid dividends in enabling quick and easy communication with a large proportion of our community. As the generation now retiring has become accustomed to internet usage through their work we expect its value and use to increase and the day will soon come when it is our main communication line with our retired staff."

Technologies used

Adobe Coldfusion, Microsoft SQL Server, XHTML, CSS.

## Screens
- Latest news listing: All members could add their own news items and read updates through simple web forms, with no technical skill needed.
- Secure member access: Password protection kept the retired members' community area private, with a simple process for new members to register.
- Events and member RSVP: The RSVP functionality proved particularly useful when the site launched ahead of the 2006 annual meeting.
- Contacts directory: Members could search the directory by name or by location to find and keep in touch with each other.
- User-administered content: Members update their own contact details directly through this form, without needing to learn new technical skills.
- Administrator-only interface: All content administration, such as managing event categories, is performed through simple web forms like this one.