Website/Webmaster Utilization Report Virginia League of Social Services Executives Board of Directors and Membership Meeting May 5, 2016 Presented by Liz Henry, VLSSE Technology Chair

Introduction In the April 2016 VLSSE Board of Directors meeting, questions were raised on the use of the League’s website. In response to these questions, the League President requested that the Technology Committee research the: Use of the VLSSE website Annual maintenance cost of $5500 Present the research findings in the May 2016 Membership meeting. To evaluate the use of the website, the League conducted to complete a brief survey for one week beginning April 25th and ending mid-day on May 2nd.

Background: Website Development and Launch In 2012, Virginia League of Social Services Executives (VLSSE) Board made a decision to create a new League website. The Ivy Group, located in Charlottesville VA, was contracted to develop the new website. Over the course of the next several months, the League worked with Ivy Group to determine the features and functions to be included in the new website. A considerable investment of both time and money were made by the League to develop the new resource. April 2014, the League contracted for webmaster services to facilitate the launch of the new website. New website was launched in July 2014. October 2014, webmaster provided training for League’s committee chairs including instructions on how to load documents, e.g. Committee Reports. November 2014,website training was also provided by the webmaster at the VLSSE fall conference.

Summary of the Website Costs FY 2013 $10,049.53 Actual FY2014 $21,331.06 Actual FY 2015 $12,892.88 Actual FY 2016 $ 4,987.40 Projected* FY 2017 $ 5,500.00 Proposed Budget FY2016 costs includes $179.40 annual hosting cost (Ivy Group) and $400 monthly cost for webmaster services. Approximately $43,489 was expended for the website development by the Ivy Group.

Webmaster Services Webmasters are responsible for maintaining and updating their organization’s website(s). They help ensure websites are user friendly and offer an optimal user experience. April 2014, VLSSE contracted for 24 hours per month of webmaster services at an hourly rate of $50. July 2014, the number of hours/month was reduced from 24 to 8 hours at the same hourly rate of $50. Internet research shows that: Nationally, an average webmaster salary ranges from $32,000 to $77,000 plus benefits. When outsourcing for webmaster of hours decrease. services, the hourly rate will increase as the number. $49 per/hour is an average hourly rate for outsourcing 8 hours (one day) per month for a webmaster. Source: https://webmaster.company/webmaster-hire-pricing/ http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Web_Administrator/Salary

Webmaster Services VLSSE contracts for 8 hours per month/2 hours per week of webmaster services Webmaster services include three types of services: Routine maintenance of the system Irregular required maintenance of the site Special long term projects Set up new users Assist League members with passwords/user names requests Update website content; Post new documents Create conferences and “Events” for Board Meetings Post member questions to the Discussion Forum Post Job listings Send New Content notification emails to League distribution list

Webmaster Services Irregular required maintenance of the site Add/Update Committee Information e.g. Committee names, Chairs, Charges Address user’s problems with posting documents to the site Fix document display issues Assist with uploading new documents Special long term projects Migrate League documents from the old website 720 documents were migrated into the media library; must be attached to correct committee by year. League History Transcribe notes taken at a meeting with League founders documenting the history of the League.

Website Survey Results VLSSE Website Utilization Survey was conducted for a one week period beginning April 25 through May 2, 2106. Received 80 survey responses. 50% of the responses were from a League Board member or Committee Chair Each region was represented; Piedmont Region had the highest percentage of responses 26% Western Region had the lowest with 11% Answer Options Response Percent Response Count Central Region 20.3% 16 Eastern Region 22.8% 18 Northern Region 19.0% 15 Piedmont Region 26.6% 21 Western Region 11.4% 9

Website Survey Results How often do you use the VLSSSE website? Answer Options Response Percent Response Count Very often (1-2 times per week) 1.3% 1 Often (1-2 times per month) 30.0% 24 Sometimes  (4-5 times a year) 40.0% 32 Occasionally  (once or twice a year) 20.0% 16 Rarely (less than once a year) 5.0% 4 Never 3.8% 3

Website Survey Results When you visit the website, what pages to do you access? Check all that apply. Answer Options Response Percent Response Count Conferences 74.00% 57 Committee Reports 68.80% 53 Discussion Forum 55.80% 43 Events  (Committee meetings, Board Actions, Reports) 51.90% 40 Board Reports (Treasurer Reports, Vice Presidents reports) 39.00% 30 Issues 23.40% 18 Bylaws/ Articles of Corporation 19.50% 15 Job Listings 10.40% 8 Surveys 7.80% 6 Resources: Links to other Social Service organizations 6.50% 5

Website Survey Results What do you find most helpful in using the website? Discussion Board (20) Central place to store info/Organized/Easy to find reports/Secure/Accessible (12) Committee Reports (10) Conference information (8) Nothing/Not much/NA (3) Email notification of new content

Website Survey Results What would make the website more user friendly Website Survey Results What would make the website more user friendly? What would make it people more likely to use it? The current format of the website is very user friendly. Because many of us are inundated with work e-mails, going to another site may not be very appealing. Make things easier to find. Keep [the website] updated, e.g., the "Officers and directors" are listed for 2012- 2014. Improve the way information is sorted; e.g. use the same section for officers of the League and District Representatives. Improve the nomenclature used. Form a committee to vet the information being posted; to oversee timeliness/accuracy/and keep up with what members want. Make it easier access to Membership and Board Meeting information e.g. post a Membership directory. Add a link on SPARK (first page) to make it more readily accessible.

Website Survey Results: Website Survey Results: Other Comments about League Website 30 Comments received: equally divided between Pros and Cons Pros: I like the site's ability to maintain historical records and documentation. Important for the League to maintain the site. Usage will grow as we all become more technologically savvy and as the League continues to grow and develop. Updates from Catherine could be posted to the website v. e-mail communication. Usage would probably increase if members knew the League president was using it more to communicate important information. VLSSE website is a valuable tool. When members start utilizing it more, its benefits will increase and improve.

Website Survey Results: Other Comments about League Website Cons: It is very difficult to use. No conference info Not user friendly...difficult to find list of current meetings, minutes of meetings, and archive of documents like charges, minutes, and next meeting information. Prefer the emails from Cathy over the website.--no real value from the website. I sign in so infrequently to the website that it takes me several minutes to figure out how to maneuver the page. Suggestions: Have conference evaluations and member input for conference locations and content either on the website or as a email.   Have the agenda for the conferences posted earlier would be helpful Wish more people would participate in the discussion forum!!

Please visit http://VLSSE.org Survey Section to see the complete 2016 VLSSE Website Utilization Survey Report including all responses and comments. For questions about the survey, you may contact Liz Henry by email at Elizabeth.henry@fairfaxcounty.gov