Atlanta, GA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/28/2006 --It's been over 12 years … 12 years since Netscape released its first commercially available online browser. And in that time, Web-site design and launch times have improved … somewhat. Jakob Nielsen, a principal with the Nielsen Norman Group and a subject matter expert in Web usability, sees the complexities and obstacles in what has become a massive and clumsy World Wide Web. "The Web is a communications medium, a two-way medium," Nielsen remarked in a fall 2005 interview with BusinessWeek. "People go to Web sites because they have questions they want answered. That's not being done."
Or is it?
Consider Youth of Honor (YOH) Foundation, a nonprofit organization established earlier this year as an advocate for troubled youth. Headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, YOH was created in memory of Carl Brashear, the first and only African-American Navy Master Diver. Building an organization fueled by charitable contributions, Founder and President Ron Brashear and Executive Director Tom Grason quickly found the need to create a Web presence with online payment options.
"I talked to InterScape's Matt Francis about WebPilot," Grason explained. "I told him that we needed to get a site up as soon as possible. He created a WebPilot account for us, designed a template home page, and within 2 days, I was able — with no more than a 30-minute basic training phone call — to successfully navigate through the user interface to build pages and link them together. The hardest part was writing the content to powerfully communicate who we are and what we do."
The WebPilot content management solution, released by InterScape in January 2005, allows users to cost-effectively manage Web copy, media, e-commerce, communities, support and forms all through a standard Web browser. Its scalability and hosting features provide both commercial and nonprofit clients the flexibility to make changes and add features on demand. For Grason and this nonprofit model, WebPilot was a smart strategic and tactical move.
"The beauty of it is that I can log into the site at any time and make real-time changes," Grason described, "enhancing our visibility to contributors and military patrons worldwide. We now have the opportunity to brand ourselves, increase awareness, provide a landing spot for our press releases and market our organization using more than just business cards."
To ease in the processing of incoming contributions, WebPilot also offers YOH secure PayPal support and the ability to recognize donors across multiple giving levels. Additionally, in the coming months, YOH will be expanding to include a for-profit, retail division. A built-in feature within WebPilot, the online storefront will facilitate a quick-to-market, e-commerce advantage. Other mission-critical features include the Search Engine Ranking Report, enabling users to accurately assess Web positioning and optimization.
"We really had to balance speed with affordability in taking on this project," Grason said. "From a cost perspective, it was well within our projected budget while also giving us ease of navigation to evolve it as we grow."
Founded in 1997, InterScape Inc. is an innovator of next-generation business intelligence applications that enable enterprise clients to institute and automate best-in-class processes well ahead of the competition. With a focus on marketing, 3D-modeling, online training services and database-driven content management, InterScape has provided media and Internet development expertise to companies including ALLTEL, Siemens, Scientific Atlanta and BellSouth.
WebPilot Adds Smplicity and Speed to the "Go Live" Pressure