Summary

1. 2006 realizations
• Paid web hosting - Domain name migration - Email addresses migration - IFSA Forums
2. New website development
• Current weaknesses - Current strength - Contents delays - Future contents and tools - Some clues
3. 2007 projects
• New website online - Newsletter - Photos & videos

This report will not detail the large technical part of the Webmaster's job.

Paid web hosting (1)

• The IFSA had a domain name redirected to a free web hosting: ifsasport.com to ifsasport.free.fr. A .com that was used for doing nothing so to speak.
• The real use of a .com is a much better solution for the IFSA.
• So we needed a paid web hosting.

Paid web hosting (2)

• In this way, we have single addresses for our web pages (no frames) which are all in .com and not in .free.fr (no redirection).
• The old links (http://ifsasport.free.fr/path/to/the/file) which were posted on the web were automatically redirected to the new URLs (http://www.ifsasport.com/path/to/the/file).
• The old links are still working. No loss.

Domain name migration (1)

• We changed the main domain name from ifsasport.com to ifsasports.org.
• The plural (sports) transmits the idea that IFSA develops a plurality of sports, a polyvalency and an opening to different practices.
• The .org symbolizes better the purposes of IFSA than a .com.
• ifsasports.org reinforces the IFSA's identity.

Domain name migration (2)

• On the whole, we have 4 different domain names: ifsasports.org (the main), ifsasport.org, ifsasports.com, ifsasport.com.
• All URLs, all old or new links on the web, composed with ifsasport.free.fr, ifsasport.com, ifsasports.com or ifsasport.org are automatically redirected to the valid URLs composed with ifsasports.org.
• Thus we bring a maximum of visitors on our pages even if they have eventually used a wrong URL/link. A minimum of dead end.

Domain name migration (3)

• For instance, all these following links redirect to the same address, the valid one, the last one in this list:
• ifsasport.free.fr/English/news.htm
• ifsasport.com/English/news.htm, www.ifsasport.com/English/news.htm
• ifsasports.com/English/news.htm, www.ifsasports.com/English/news.htm
• ifsasport.org/English/news.htm, www.ifsasport.org/English/news.htm
• ifsasports.org/English/news.htm
• www.ifsasports.org/English/news.htm

Email addresses migration

• Due to the domain name change our IFSA email addresses changed as well.
• They are the same as our old addresses except for the domain part which becomes @ifsasports.org.
• Our contacts will certainly use the old addresses for a while. Hence, the existing addresses are maintained and we won't lose any mail sent at these addresses with @ifsasport.com.
• But no more @ifsasport.com addresses will be created.
• From the change, we communicate with our new addresses.

IFSA Forums (1)

• IFSA Forums were opened in early December 2005 as a private tool for our internal communication.
• In summer 2006, we opened the public boards.
• On the one hand only a few people take advantage of replies to emails. Moreover the IFSA have to repeat answers if the same questions are asked again.
• And on the other hand it is easier to ask for information on forums than to make the effort to send an email to IFSA. Moreover information can be found easily if it is already available in the forums.

IFSA Forums (2)

• So we wanted to give the skaters a new way to communicate with the IFSA. Having a permanent place to discuss with all, to exchange, to ask questions and to find answers for all that concerns the IFSA.
• Futhermore, we try to connect our two communication tools (website and forums) with links from one to the other as soon as it is possible.
• IFSA Forums are at forum.ifsasports.org.

Current weaknesses

• The website has been created, edited and maintained by the IFSA President, Vincent Vu Van Kha, since the beginning in 2003. He does it with his own skills, in addition of his President's job.
• The website is not well designed. It was created step by step and not thought as a whole. No tools are available.
• Some information and archives are missing. Too many mistakes make it dirty.
• The website is not as user-friendly as it could be. It is obvious that IFSA needs a fresh website.

Current strength

• We have a way to diffuse information to the skaters all over the world.
• We have a way to increase the visibility of the freestyle sports and the one of the IFSA.
• The IFSA website is our main communication support. It allows us to communicate as efficiently as possible.
• The current website does the minimum, but it is existing and fulfiling his role.

Contents delays

• We have tried to prepare a rebuilding of the contents since April 2005. A lot of texts and archives must be created.
• Unfortunately, none of the IFSA Staff's members has enough time left to do the job.
• Therefore we needed people to help.
• Caroline Lejeune and Antoine Genel have joined us to do a part of this work since early September 2006.

Future contents and tools

• Presentation: presentation of the sports, the purposes of IFSA, its structure and its history.
• Competitions: seasons presentations, detailled information on each competition since 2002, results, skaters lists, rules, judges list, organization requirements, archives.
• Images: photos and videos galleries.
• Services: information on judges courses.
• Plus: news about the IFSA's activities, search tool, newsletter, FAQ (still to define), polls (still to define), links, contacts.

Some clues

• The new website will be put online only when all the contents we are creating are ready.
• From that moment, all files in downloading will be in PDF format, no more MS Office files (except some files like the empty sheets of the judges).
• All the website will be in English. Some specific documents or pages which are not going to change every month (rules, requirements, etc.) will be provided in other languages.

New website online

• The brand new website will be online during the 2007 season.
• Contrary to the current weaknesses, I'll maintain the website.
• I hope it will be a more effective website, dynamic, complete, user-friendly and handier for the visitors as well as for us.

Newsletter

• We plan to send a newsletter on occasion during the season.
• Obviously there will be a subscription module visible on every pages of the new website.
• It will be archived as well and readable on the website.

Photos & videos

• I will try to give the website more colors, to make it more attractive, more passionate, with some action pictures.
• Also we aim to represent the IFSA sports by selected photos and videos in galleries.
• Maybe we'll be helped by a few of you to edit specific videos, one for each IFSA sport.