Executive Director's Report V, 0713 ALBJ, 74 The Alabama Lawyer 221 (2013)

• Author: Keith B. Norman

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT V

Vol. 74 No. 4 Pg. 221

Alabama Bar Lawyer

July 2013

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0 WORK UNDERWAY ON A NEW WEBSITE FOR YOU

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0 Keith B. Norman

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0The Alabama State Bar’s website, www.alabar.org, first went live in the spring of 1996. In the 17 years since then, we unveiled redesigned sites in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008. And, our website is undergoing another major redesign. The Website and Internet Technology Task Force, appointed by President Phillip McCallum, has been meeting for several months getting started on this project. Lead jointly by Cleve Poole of Greenville and Harold Stephens of Huntsville, the task force mission is to:

“…review the exiting website and make recommendations to improve the website so that it provides timely, accurate and useful information in a dynamic format about the Alabama State Bar for its members and for the public.”

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Since the website originally went live, its utilization has dramatically increased. Not long after it became operational, it was averaging 1, 400 hits a day. Since 1996, we have continued to add more and more content, as well as an online legal research tool, Casemaker. Today, the site averages m ore than 16, 000 daily page views. And, thanks to enhanced analytics, we know that the five most-visited areas, in order, are the online directory, member control panel, admissions, member central, and MCLE.

\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0\xA0Although the site has grown more popular and useful since its inception, the time has come for a major upgrade. The task force is reviewing the website’s current content, as well as parameters for adding future content, to ensure the inclusion of information that is important and useful to bar members and the public. Some of...