A new benefit of ASA membership is the microsite component of the ASA Community, which allows chapters and sections to create a website for public use free of charge. Recently, the Kansas-Western Missouri Chapter created a microsite after viewing the Chicago Chapter’s site.

“Our previous web page supported by the ASA was neither administrator friendly nor very attractive,” said Ananda Jayawardhana, Kansas-Western Missouri Chapter representative. “We started with a standard template and customized it to our chapter needs. … Maintenance of the new web page is very easy, and only a few emails were sent back and forth to get all this done.”

The microsite feature is becoming popular due to its functionality and easy set up. Microsites start with a standard template, but can be customized to a chapter or section’s needs, look, and feel. If there is a specific image or logo associated with a chapter or section, it can be incorporated into the site through a banner, and all the information on the previous website can be migrated. After the microsite is set up, chapters and sections can add or update content independently to suit their needs.

Microsites serve as a great tool for informing the public of news and events. To take advantage of this, all news items, announcements, and events posted in a chapter or section’s community will be posted to its microsite automatically.

For more information about this member benefit or to get started now, contact Rick Peterson, Continuing Education and chapters and sections associate, at rick@amstat.org.