New Website

April 2016: The Northwest Compassionate Communication website has been replaced by a new version of the site. The new site includes the all the same content (except where content was no longer accurate), has begun to add new content, added new features and a new look, and has set the stage for future additions of new content, new features, and new refinements to the look.

New Features for Users of the Site

Appearance:

  • The visual appearance of the site has been updated.
  • The site is designed to be usable on mobile devices.

Content:

  • News items and Blog posts are now supported, offering the potential for an ongoing stream of new content.
  • The content of the site has been reorganized to support clarity and ease in finding things.
  • Trainings are now categorized into residential, in-person (nonresidential), and virtual (internet or phone) trainings, and the listings make it possible to distinguish these.
  • The home page now lists more information, including news, blog posts, and individual practice groups, in addition to upcoming trainings.
  • In addition to a page listing all trainers, each individual trainer now has a separate trainer page. The individual trainer page lists any information the trainer wants to share about themselves, plus any upcoming trainings associated with that trainer.
  • A "Vashon" page has been added, focusing on training and trainers on Vashon Island, which has a particularly high concentration of NVC trainers.

Navigation:

  • A search feature (accessed from the top navigation bar) now allows one to search for webpages containing particular words. (Due to technical limitations, the search feature does not search training listings.)
  • A "breadcrumb trail" (near the top of the page) shows where you are in the website and gives links to ancestor pages. (This applies when not on a top-level or specialized-function page.)
  • Previous/next arrows (to the left of the search box in the navigation bar) that allow you to step through pages that exist in the same level of the page hierarchy. (This applies when not on a top-level or specialized-function page.)
  • Training and practice group listings include links to relevant trainer pages.
  • A site map now shows all the pages on the site.
  • The site now features shortcut web addresses (URLs) to get to certain webpages. For example, instead of going to nwcompass.org/trainings/trainers/mair-alight/, one can simple go to nwcompass.org/Mair-Alight. (This works for all the trainer pages, and for a variety of other pages. Case doesn't matter.)

New Features for Trainers and Content Editors

Trainings:

  • Trainings are categorized as residential, in-person (nonresidential) or virtual.
  • It is now possible to specify customized text to be added to the confirmation message/email when a user registers for a particular training.
  • The event sidebar on the home page is updated automatically. Trainings should generally be included as appropriate, though a new "home page" setting on trainings allows one to override the default behavior around what is listed there.

Trainer pages:

  • Individual trainer pages allow you to add and update content that can go beyond what is provided in your bio.
  • Your trainer page will automatically list your trainings. (If you lead practice groups, it can be configured to show those as well.)
  • You can direct people to reach your individual page via the shortcut web address nwcompass.org/[firstname]-[lastname].

General:

  • A new user interface allows trainers or content authors who log in as an editor to add or change content on the website (not just training and practice group listings). See Information for Site Editors and/or contact n w c a d m i n AT DOMAIN nwcompass~org for details.
  • Email addresses posted in training or practice group listings are now protected from spammers.
  • The site now uses a multilingual character set (Unicode), in case you feel inclined to add text in Chinese (你好), Arabic (مرحبا), Russian (Здравствуйте), or any other language.

Some Things Not Updated

  • Adding trainings and practice groups and registering for trainings or the mailing list still occurs via the old interfaces, albeit with minor changes.
  • The old website can be found at old.nwcompass.org. (Please don't try to use this to register or add trainings or do other site administration.)

Future Possibilities for Trainers and Content Editors

  • We could add a Wiki to the site to support easy sharing and updating of information.
  • We could provide updated interfaces for adding trainings and practice groups and/or registering for trainings or the mailing list. This could lead, for example, to the possibility of including images, maps, or embedded videos in training listings.
  • The look of the site could be further enhanced with the help of a graphic designer.
  • The infrastructure is now in place to make it much easier to add new features. So feel free to offer your ideas!

Editing

If you are a potential content editor, or a trainer who wants to edit their page, see Information for Site Editors.

Contact

To offer feedback or ideas about the website, or to report problems, send email to w e b m a s t e r AT DOMAIN nwcompass~org.

Credits

The new site was developed by Bob Wentworth using the Python-based Wagtail content management system.