Hymns Ancient & Modern Group Web Strategy
We've been providing both Managed IT and Web Development
services to the Hymns Ancient and Modern group since 1998, and have
watched the charity grow to incorporate a number of business
offerings. Having acquired various organisations over the last few
years, their web presence was left feeling disjointed and without a
clear group image. To bring together all the individual divisions
of the business, Dominic Vaughan, CEO, made the decision to develop
the Hymns Ancient and Modern heritage brand as the common link.
Our proposal was to reinforce this brand by bringing together
all websites within the group so that they would jointly deliver a
clear and coherent group message whilst still retaining their own
identity.
In brief, our core strategy was to:
- Redevelop all existing websites and develop new sites using the
industry standard Umbraco ASP.net Content Management System. This
would allow a trained user to maintain any website within the
group.
- Group Login: Develop a single login that would allow web
visitors to sign up once and access all websites within the group
rather than maintain separate usernames and passwords for each
site.
- Centralised Checkout: Develop a single e-commerce checkout that
is shared by all websites within the group. This facilitates the
cross selling of products across the group and provides a single
point of payment.
- Advertising Server: Develop an advertising server solution that
would allow the advertising team to "push" adverts for all websites
within the group, enabling them to track the number of times the
advert is displayed and the number of times a visitor has clicked
on it.
- Mailshot Server: Develop a template based mailshot system that
would facilitate the bulk sending of sales emails whilst also
tracking when the mailshot was opened, which links were clicked and
who clicked them.
The above strategy has now been implemented, but there is a lot
still to do. Sites currently created under the new strategy
are:
www.hymnsam.co.uk -
Completely new Umbraco based website for the group company. This
site utilises the group login functionality.
www.jobs.churchtimes.co.uk
- A completely new jobs portal for the Anglican Church. Developed
in Umbraco, utilises the group login and displays adverts from the
central advertising server.
www.thirdway.org.uk -
Rebuilt using Umbraco. Utilises the group login, displays adverts
from the advertising server and is linked to the centralised
checkout where subscriptions can be purchased.
www.singpraise.info -
Completely new Umbraco based website to launch the new hymn book
"Sing Praise". This site also utilises the group login
functionality.
The project still has a long way to go. We're currently working
on the migration of their two book selling sites, www.chbookshop.co.uk and www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk
"The progress of this large web development has been
remarkably painless. Thanks to Impreza we have much of our new web
presence in an advanced stage in a reasonable timescale.
Their collaborative way of working has helped to ensure that
all those who need to get involved feel part of the
process."
Dominic Vaughan, Group CEO, Hymns Ancient & Modern