Do we have a list of New Website Improvements?New VDHA Website Unveiled By Dave Broeker Webmaster
The Officers of the VDHA are proud to announce that the NEW VDHA Website will soon be going LIVE. It has taken more than a year to gather detailed information and quotes, get the right people involved, and coordinate all our efforts and information involved to pull this project together.
We are still the Vietnam Dog Handler Association but our new internet address is http://vdha.us . The new URL is shorter and easier to remember and we like to feel that the “us” extension to the name is actually in reference to those of “US” who share our Brotherhood of Dog Handlers, as a group.
I’m sure you are all wondering what you need to do to access the new VDHA website. Hopefully, No changes or work is required by the end users to view the new website. I am purchasing a "standard in the industry tool", which automatically forwards all requests to view our OLD internet address to our NEW internet address. When we actually do go live, you will automatically be forwarded to our new Website, and the old website will no longer be accessible by the public. After this transfer occurs, you should take the time and make the effort, to delete your old VDHA browser Bookmark or Favorite and create a new one with the new VDHA Internet address. If you use a desktop icon to get to the VDHA website, please modify it or delete the old one and create a new one. The OLD VDHA Internet address was http://www.vdhaonline.org . The NEW VDHA Internet address is http://vdha.us
We listened to the members concerns about wanting a more User-Friendly Website & Message Board, and hopefully, our new website will be well worth the wait.
We are proud to announce that there are so many new features on our new website, that we could not possibly list them all, without adding extra pages to this issue, so I’ll touch on several of them, in an effort to draw your interest.
Our New Website boasts a new three dimensional looking VDHA Banner with bolder, user-friendly, selection buttons at the top of the page, and some at the bottom of each page, to allow for more webpage width and for easier migrating from page to page.
No advertisements are on this website so we can take full advantage of the page width.
Members who are current on their membership dues, benefit by our creation of a new and improved Member Area. Non-Members and Members who’s dues are in arrears, do not have access to this area, and we have moved several features previously found outside the Member Area, into this "restricted area".
Member Area access is accomplished by entering your member number and password. The perverbial redundant problem of how do I acquire my member number and password has been solved! We will provide you with your Member Number and an automatically computer generated, 8 digit password, to get you started. You may change your password if you like, to something easily remembered, after you gain access to the Member Area. Each Member is personally responsible to go to the new website when it is available, and retrieve their own Member Number and Password. To access your information, go to Member Login on the VDHA Homepage, then select "Click HERE to Retrieve Password & Member Number". Fill in your e-mail address and click on "Retrieve Account Information" button. The information will automatically be e-mailed directly to you, immediately. That is all there is to it. Of course, you may contact the webmaster at any time if you experience difficulties.
Our new lightning fast, user-friendly, “No Frills”, Message Board now requires No Registration or Passwords, because it is in the Member Area. There are only three simple steps to start using our new Message Board. Enter the Member Area and select Message Board, select the proper Forum you want to read or add a post to, and read existing messages or add your own messages by selecting "ADD A NEW TOPIC".
As an Active Member who's dues are current, with access to the Member Area, you can update your personal info, create a Biography, upload up to 10 photos of yourself for your profile and give captions to each, update your e-mail address, change your password, and several other options. You will really like this simple to use feature.
We have found and posted 73 Dogman issues in PDF format on the website inside the member Area. Every Dogman issue is viewable on the website and can be downloaded or printed directly from the website to your personal printer. Every new issue will be posted at the top of the selection pull-down list, so you don’t have to scroll to the bottom of the list to get the latest issue. Newer Issues will hopefully be printed in color as time allows.
Articles and Stories is a new addition to the Member Area, and can easily be selected for reviewing. All the existing Articles and Stories from the old website have been posted and several NEW stories have been submitted and published on our website. I know you will enjoy reading them all and hopefully be encouraged to turn in your very own short story or article for publication.
Advanced Search is a Member Area, new addition, and allows you to selectively search on almost every subject listed specifically on our Website, by Name, Location, Unit, etc. If you type in a last name, every single location that name appears on the website, will be referenced. Smith, for example, would bring up every Smith reference, but if you narrow the search by adding a first name of Bob, you will only get Bob Smith information. If you narrow the search even more to the Unit you know he was in, you will get information only on Bob Smith that was in a specific unit.
Outside the Member Area, accessible to all, are the VDHA Officers page, Unit Directors list, Events, Photos, Photo Gallery, News, War Dog Resolutions, Awards and Ribbons, Contact Us information, Membership, War Dog Units, War Dogs, Memorials, Links, Merchandise, FAQ’s, Limited Search, and Join VDHA Information, among others.
FAQ stands for "Frequently Asked Questions", and is a standard on the Internet today. Every effort is being made to assist our Members to make their inter-active experience as user friendly as possible. You can scroll down through the topics and see if the question you might have is listed here, and if it is not listed, please contact the Webmaster via “Contact Us” to ask for assistance. New FAQ's will continue to be added regularly, as needed.
Contacting a VDHA Officer is now quick and simple. On the Home Page Toolbar, select the "About Us" Pulldown. Then scroll down to the bottom of the Pulldown list and select "Contact Us". Select the Officer you want to contact and fill in the other 3 fields of information on the left side of the page, then select the button at the bottom of the page labeled "Submit". What could be simpler. An automatic e-mail will be sent to that officer and he will respond to you as quickly as possible.
To JOIN the VDHA, you must NEVER have been a previous VDHA Member. If you have ever been a member in the past, you need to RENEW your VDHA Membership! To Join, select "JOIN VDHA" at the top of the Home Page. A single page “Join VDHA” form will appear, so fill in as much information as you can. Then you will be taken to a new webpage where your application will be confirmed and you will be instructed to choose a payment method of check/money order or PayPal. The information and links to pay your dues will be on that page and you may follow through with your payment. Your Membership will be approved as soon as the VDHA Treasurer receives your payment and enters the proper code to your account. That is all there is to it!
Renewing VDHA Membership is the alternative to Joining the VDHA, because if you are already a member or have ever been a member in the past, you need not "JOIN" again because we probably have your name in our database, at the very least, and we do not want to duplicate your membership. We will update your old profile and make it current and you will retain your original Membership number, no matter how long you have been absent from membership, if possible. So Welcome Back!!! Select Membership at the top of the Homepage, then Membership Renewal. You will be taken to a short form to fill out and submit along with your membership payment.
The old hassle of knowing when your VDHA Membership Dues come due again are a thing of the past. The new database is automated to remind you via e-mail, 30 days in advance and again at 10 days, if need be. Members without e-mail addresses will simply use "membership@vdha.us" in their profiles so that they will be contacted by our membership Chairman when their membership dues are due to expire.
Our new VDHA Brochure is now available for view and download and can easily be printed from the website. Select the “Download Brochure” button found on the Homepage in the left column at the bottom of the page. This brochure sums up all the most important VDHA information to share with prospective new members.
Badly needed, up to date reports, not accessible in the past, are now available to all Officers and Unit Directors in Excel format, on practically every bit of information in our database.
So WELCOME to the NEW VDHA Website, and please have patience with us as we attempt to continually improve the operation and flow of the website. I’m sure we will find a few flaws as we start up, and we encourage everyone to please share any suggestions you might have or problems you might encounter, via the “Contact Us” option. |