Somerset Ornithological Society Home Page
A news archive with categories and upcoming events
Clickable Google map of birding sites
Detailed information of each birding site
Photo gallery with facility for visitors to submit photos
Mobile views of Somerset Ornithological Society
Visit Live Website - http://somersetbirding.org.uk
Somerset Ornithological Society Case Study
The Somerset Ornithological Society (SOS) aims to further the study of birds and assist in their preservation. Their work involves providing educational information about birds to their 400+ members as well as collecting records of the various bird species in Somerset.
SOS already had a website which they felt did not reflect their organisation accurately or encourage more interest in birding and further membership of their society. So they commissioned Make Hay to create a new, professional website with a clear navigational structure, a professional look and a responsive design. Vital to the project was the ability for nominated members to update the site through a web based content management system (CMS), without needing any coding skills or HTML knowledge.
We created new, clean layouts making use of SOS's beautiful photography and incorporating their existing branding into the visual design. The new site includes a membership facility and discussion forums which are all part of the main website and managed via the CMS. Latest society news and upcoming events are now a prominent part of the site and much easier to update and manage. Using the Google Maps API we designed a new map section detailing places to go birding in Somerset. Each 'birding site' page contains information about the habitat and what to expect - as well as information on accessibility and directions to the site. SOS produce a newsletter (the Bittern) which is avalable on the website all the way back to the first issue. Facebook and Twitter are now integrated into the site allowing members and other visitors to easily follow and stay in touch with the society. Website visitors and members can submit their photographs of birds to the Gallery too.
The Somerset Ornithological Society website is 100% wind powered by our very own Green Hosting.
