Improvements to the suffolkmasons.com website
Brothers,
Question: is it possible to be “new” and “improved” at the same time?
Over the last few years, I have gotten feedback from users of the suffolkmasons.com website regarding several things. The one main theme was that it was slow and cumbersome, especially with ticket purchases for events. The hosting for the district website has been updated and migrated to a more powerful server and will more room to grow and expand. I have also trimmed down the site to the essentials and cut the fat and bloat that will sometimes impact speed. While I do not have the speed test from before the changes, that would be embarrassing, I do have the speed test from recent testing.
So, we’re getting a solid B grade on speed and there is a bit more work to do to get to an A. We are also in process of upgrading with significant improvements to Hiram’s Tickets (online ticket sales). This should be ready for use by Mid December or earlier.
Some other highlights we’d mention:
- Weekly automated announcements email (this are just the latest and greatest of posts and events coming up)
- Quarterly District Communication email (too many complaints about the number of emails)
- Email Archive (missed an announcement? need to see it again? now you can in the Archive)
- Education Page (here you can sign up for District Courses like the RTE or MDC)
- The Suffolk District Traveling gavel has its own page! Check the location and travel brothers!
- Complete listing of Suffolk District Lodges with brief history and meeting times, etc.
- And of course, the Events page. Check out what is happening around the District, who’s doing what and when. This calendar and the calendar on the District BAND are synchronized to keep all events in the District as widely seen as possible.
- When arriving at the suffolkmasons.com home page, be sure and scroll down for additional information like a brief list of upcoming events, a link to the Craftsmen Online Podcast and more.
Of course we are still looking for content, so if you have a story or information you would like to share, send it to us and we’ll publish it for all to see. The point of all this is communication Brothers and a website is still one of the best ways to efficiently and effectively get the info out to all. A website requires no username or password to find information or get what you need. There is the calendar of events, informational posts, pages to find who to contact and how to contact a brother in the district. Albeit some of the info is behind a secure wall so you would have to register and be approved to access personal info like emails and phone numbers.
We would invite all brothers to have a look and see what is available, suggest improvements with feedback, comments and create content. If we share what we know with each other, we all get better and that is the point Brothers. We hope this page in combination with the Suffolk District BAND serves the District well and keeps all “in the know”. We are a relatively small but diverse group of gentlemen, and we are always there for each other.
This service is provided by LIPMA. When creating an event, especially a ticketed event, you can request that a Promoter email campaign be setup for your event. The campaign consists of 4-6 emails sent on a schedule. the 1st will be either an event announcement or a ticket sales announcement. As ticket sales progress additional emails will be sent as event reminders and updates to your event. This feature help promote as the names suggests as well as drive ticket sales for your Lodge or group event. All you need to do is send an email to the 
