HEY, THE NEW APTA WEB SITE IS UP

By Charles E. Vasoll

Have you visited the “new and improved” (like all products these days) APTA web site yet? If you have not, please take a few minutes to do so. Also be sure that, after your visit, you respond to the survey, which asks which of the three editions you like the best. There has been only a small sampling so far but the new site is winning. And it should.

First, the graphics are better than the earlier version. Somehow they have made it seem more welcoming. The color is light and pleasing to the eye.

Second, the navigation is well laid out. The menu takes you where you want to go to get the information that made you want to visit.

Finally, the material is interesting and informative. Maybe you don’t want to spend all the time it would take to go through the entire presentation at one visit but there is something there, which you might see which you may decide to look into later.

That’s the + side. Now here are some suggestions.

Platform tennis tournaments do not get any “press”. This means if you want to find out how that old pal of yours did in an event, you either have to contact him directly or rely on a web site to supply this information. I know that results are slow in reaching the APTA office so some form of “scoreboard” should be included in the new site to display results of tourneys in all seven regions but especially in the National Championships.

I recognize that this is the first edition and some old material has temporarily been omitted. I’m certain that this will be corrected in the near future. For example, the membership search program on the old web site was very helpful. Members do need to be able to confirm their membership number and it was also a source to confirm membership for Tournament Directors. This should be reinstated.

There are other informational items that the APTA has published in the past that would be helpful. For example, in addition to the Official Rules, the pamphlet entitled “How to Conduct a Tournament Draw” and “Etiquette of Platform Tennis” should be on the web site for educational purposes.

The photos are excellent, but in most cases, do not have identifying text to tell the visitor who is in the photo and a description of the scene.

My final observation is with regard to content. There should be a time limit on how long a news story, informational article or instructional guide, is on the web site. I like a monthly format so that material is changing and current. The web site should be “clean” and formerly published material placed in “archives”. In my opinion a web site should have two parts. Part one should be a “quick read” for current news and articles and part two should be “an encyclopedia” for reference on material like the Official Rules, Membership, etc.

“Progress is our most important product”, was a slogan made popular by General Electric*. It also applies to the APTA web site.

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*Note: In the original text, Shell Oil instead of General Electric was indicated as the creator of the advertising slogan.
Thanks to William Childs for the correction.