CRAJ Fall 2018

Fall 2018 (Volume 28, Number 3)

Check Out the CRA’s New and Improved Website!

If you have visited the CRA website recently, you will notice a fresh new look! We asked the CRA a few questions about their new and improved site (rheum.ca) and the specific changes that that have been made.

Why did the CRA decide to revamp its website?
At the CRA, we continuously strive to offer the best service possible to our members. That’s why recently we decided to update our membership management software to make it easier to register for events, update information and connect with other members. This new membership management software also comes with the option to implement modern, mobile-friendly templates to improve the experience on our website. With that in mind and combined with the fact that our website was starting to look a bit outdated, we decided that it was time we refresh our website.

What are some of the changes/improvements that you would like to highlight for your readership?
Our members are now able to access receipts for renewals and event registrations; add job postings; and access secure files all within their portal.

There is also easier access from the home page to the top four most frequently visited pages on our website. Members can also share job postings or news updates on social media. Finally, information has been reorganized and/or renamed to improve the user experience.

What important content is available on the website that Canadian rheumatologists should be aware of?
We update the website daily with new information. These are just a few pages that have been updated recently:

Choosing Wisely
CRA Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM)
Drug Shortages
Annual Report
Job postings

How do you see the CRA website evolving in the next five to ten years?
We see the website becoming a hub for all of what our members need. This will likely include the website becoming more interactive with discussion boards and live-streaming sessions.

How would you say the CRA website compares to other equivalent not-for-profit organizations?
The CRA website is generally comparable to other not-for-profit organizations in design and usability. That said, this new launch is just the beginning and our objective is to continue improving our website to optimize it based on the needs and wants of the various segments in our membership.

How are you planning to drive increased traffic to the website?
The best way to increase traffic is to offer value. In marketing, they say “content is king,” and we intend to leverage that to the benefit of our members. After all, our objective is to be helpful and useful to our members and traffic to our website is a proxy for that.

There are of course some best practices also to ensure that our website and the pages it holds are easy to find. There is both art and science involved in leveraging the ever-changing search engine optimization techniques.

How many visitors visit the site per day?
This number varies depending on the time of year. It can range from almost 600 visits per day during our ASM to 130 per day during the summer months.