The look and feel of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Web site is undergoing a significant transition this year.

The feel, encompassed in the site’s conversion to Microsoft’s .Net framework, has already changed. The look, addressed in the second redesign of the site in three years and the implementation of a Web portal, is scheduled for activation prior to the NCBA Annual Meeting in June.

 “The Internet is constantly evolving, and the North Carolina Bar Association’s Web site also must evolve in order to remain relevant,” said Sam Byassee on behalf of the Technology Advisory Committee. “Every Web site needs a periodic ‘spring cleaning’ to improve its usability, remove obsolete links, add helpful services and programming techniques and refresh those design features that may have grown stale or boring.

 “In particular, the additional features will make the site much more useful as a legal research and information resource for lawyers and their staff. I'm really excited about the portal capabilities, which will allow a member to create a custom ‘entry page’ into the Association's Web site by choosing from a list of Web-based tools and information sources those features most relevant to his or her individual practice needs and personal interests.”

 Target dates for the conversions are March 8 for .Net –  a platform for building, displaying and running Web services and applications – and June 1 for the site redesign and accompanying portal development. On both accounts, the changes will be impressive and most noticeable to the site’s 19,000 weekly visitors.

 Equally impressive is the fact that all of the upgrades have been accommodated by existing NCBA staff members, each of whom extended themselves beyond their assigned duties to actualize the modifications.
 “Our ability to handle this project ‘in-house’ saved the bar association a substantial amount of money,” said Tom Purdy, the NCBA’s information technology director. “This is a monumental project, and the best news is that in the end we will be able to provide a higher-quality product than outsourcing would have provided.”

 John Hodgkinson, Web architect, has taken the lead role in designing the .Net architecture which now features reusable components, centralized databases, enhanced security measures and online applications that interface with the existing NCBA member database. He is also overseeing the portal development project, which will include member-specific information.

 Grant Boettcher, content coordinator for the Web site, has been responsible for importing content from the current site, including text, graphics, links and files, all of which will remain vital components of the section and division subsites.

 Graphic designer Nicky Dunlap is redesigning the site, which will be more pleasing to the eye and more user-friendly. The Communications Committee and Technology Advisory Committee reviewed and endorsed the redesign preceding approval from the NCBA Board of Governors in October.
 “The increased capabilities and sophistication of the Bar Association's staff are impressive,” Byassee said. “Through the new Web site they have provided a valuable addition to a member's necessarily growing toolbox of electronic practice resources.”

 The revised template for sections and divisions has also been favorably reviewed by the Technology Advisory Committee and section and division chairs attending the January board meeting. Ongoing review will be provided by the chairs of the various section and division Web site subcommittees, with revisions and additions being implemented on a routine basis.

 What does all of this mean to NCBA members? For starters, the Web site will be easier to navigate. Members will enjoy expanded search capabilities, as well as a number of options allowing them to customize their Web portals, to be known as MyNCBA. The site will be more interactive and, through the use of “cookies,” logging in will be easier.

 Initially, the changes will be most evident on the section and division home pages. The lefthand navigational area, which currently displays site-based information, will be section- and division-specific under the .Net format. Also, section and division newsletters will now be incorporated into the site’s expanded search capabilities.

 The section and division pages will include a Web-based discussion forum, as compared to the e-mail-based listserv that will remain operational. The new online discussion forum is more interactive and offers the option for automated notification for new topics and new comments for topics selected by the member.

 Section and division home pages will share more common features than in the past, which will be especially helpful to members who navigate through more than one section. With 31 individual sections and divisions, the commonality will add a consistent look to the sites while providing the same content that is currently in place as well as new features for all of their new Web communities.

 As long as the member’s computer utilizes “cookies,” the log-in process will be “much more member-friendly,” Purdy said. The option of allowing the system to retain the password will be available and members will be able to log in with their NCBA member number, their e-mail address or a customized user ID.

 Members will also be able to log in directly through their section home page and, provided they remain on the site, will be able to navigate without logging in again. In instances where section materials are password protected, the system will recognize the log-in data and allow section members to enter while blocking those who are not.
 “We take protection of member data very seriously,” Purdy said, noting that data entered in online applications is protected by digital certificates. “Our Web servers also have multiple security layers and any financial transaction data is encrypted so that even if anyone ever hacked into our system, the data would not be useable.”

 The implementation of MyNCBA in June will allow members to customize their NCBA home pages to include the links and items of interest – news, weather, sports, legal research sites – that best suit their needs. The MyNewsletter option available in March will allow members to access a general newsletter platform, where they may opt to receive e-bar, CeLEeView, CLE INFO or the Legislative Bulletin as well as newsletters from their sections and divisions.

 And this is just the beginning. Combined with the .Net conversion, the NCBA Web portal will continue to expand as member feedback is analyzed and additional upgrades are put into place.

 “One of the highlights of integrating .Net technologies,” Purdy said, “is that it will continuously allow us to quickly change the look and feel of our Web site if the members or services require it.”