British Parking Association

Why not visit the BPA at www.britishparking.co.uk

The Challenge

The BPA wanted a website that would act as their professional face online, promoting them as the largest association in Europe representing organisations in the traffic management and parking sector.

The core functionality of features within the BPA website all revolve around members. To keep current members well informed was the first requirement. Any happenings or events occurring in the parking sector are key information that needed to be communicated to these members.

Attracting new members was the next requirement. The BPA required the site to be attractive and informative to potential members thus increasing the number of joining members.

The BPA also felt the need to inform the general public about parking matters and offer advice on the common parking issues.

Another challenge was to organise the large amount of content into a sensible, usable navigation structure so visitors had little difficulty finding the content they are looking for.

The Approach

To inform the BPA membership of current affairs in the parking industry, Senior utilised key River CMS modules such as news and events. News stories and events are channelled to relevant areas of the website via traditional news pages and also call-to-actions. Members can also log in to see member directories, sponsorship opportunities and FAQs directed at members. Membership directories are managed by the BPA’s software and imported by River CMS onto the website.

The website also informs potential members of reasons to join the BPA via the Join section. This section details the member benefits and fees alongside an application form.

The general public are given information about parking tickets, BPA members (including a feedback option) and an FAQs page.

The BPA website structure was planned carefully so that the large amounts of content were arranged in sections where users would expect to find them. River CMS’s Super Nav aids users by allowing them to get pages buried deeper in the site structure with fewer clicks whilst also arranging pages into panels in the dropdown navigation. A search facility, complete with categories of content and dates of publication, enables users to find exactly what they require within seconds.

One particular interesting feature on the site is the IPP section, which shares the same layout as the BPA website but has a different theme to match the IPP branding.

The Results

The attractive and professional website helps to draw in new members. Several callouts and a tab donated to joining the BPA and its benefits, continues to aid the users in becoming members.

The website also successfully acts as an informant to both the members and general public; who have their own specific, easily locatable section of the website.

A fresh and modern look coupled with the easily navigable website, makes for a seamless experience for its users. They are able to identify any information they require quickly and easily through clearly laid out and user friendly categories, as well as the more specific search bar.

In terms of search engine optimisation, the site is very healthy. Approximately 800 pages are indexed in Google, with around 400 daily visits at time of writing.

Website built using Senior's River Content Management System.