A new and improved www.apa.org

As we reflect on APA's accomplishments over the past year, one achievement is so monumental it deserves special attention. By the time you read this, APA's new Web site, www.apa.org, will be live, with more than 20,000 pages of information, news, tools, images and articles that comprise the public face of our association.

This milestone was made possible by thousands of hours of work by scores of APA staff and top-notch consultants. From the information technology staffers who built the highly complex technology platforms, to the Web strategy and content team who painstakingly reviewed and migrated 20,000 pages of content, to the directorate staffers who wrote and edited much of that material, it truly took a village of talented and dedicated staff to accomplish this task.

This achievement was also made possible by the support of the Board of Directors and Council of Representatives, who allocated more than $7 million over the past three years to fund this project. That is a significant financial commitment. But consider what it has made possible:

• A highly specialized search engine that enables users to find what they're looking for swiftly, and that can search in specific areas or across the entire site.

• A members-only area that helps you track your subscriptions, division memberships, purchases and much more.

• A new “Practice Central” area that offers specialized tools to help practitioners build and manage a successful practice and career.

• An e-commerce experience similar to Amazon.com.

• Improved delivery of continuing-education courses.

• An event calendar featuring workshops, meetings and APA conferences.

• A searchable database of scholarships, grants and awards.
  

Also in development is a new databank that allows the public to find psychologists and that will allow our members to include much more information about themselves.

And these are just a few of the new and improved features. The new apa.org is a multifaceted communications tool for APA. For the public, it is a rich information resource about the depth and breadth of our discipline. For our members, it offers new ways to engage and access services and information. For all psychologists, students and librarians, it's the place to go for books, journals, videos and our other electronic databases and resources. For the media, it's a databank of ideas and a gateway to our experts.

To serve so many groups who rely on our Web site, we redesigned the site from the users' point of view. Countless hours went into gathering requirements to create the underlying architecture. We reviewed numerous design ideas to arrive at a clean, attractive look and feel. Staff tested the site internally, then went to members, friends and even family to see if our decisions worked in practice. As a real-life test of our platforms, we launched www.apastyle.org last July, which helped to prove the workability of our concepts.

It was, in short, a mammoth undertaking.

As proud as I am of what we have built, we are not done. Because the Web is a constantly changing beast, our site will continue to grow and evolve. We are already talking about improvements and enhancements — such as more video podcasts and a members-only professional network where psychologists can share challenges, ideas and resources.

Now we have the foundation we need to expand. There are state-of-the-art applications behind this site, which have made possible the robust new search, the e-commerce, the members-only features and our ability to publish information more quickly and easily. These products were carefully chosen because they not only have improved the site, they will grow with us.

A special insert on the site appears in this issue. Please visit the new site and spend some time exploring. There's a link on the top right of each page for your feedback, so let us know what you think. I hope you like what you see.