Webteam Tararua Tramper Column

The home page

This is one of a series of short fillers about the club's website for the Tararua Tramper. It highlights features and aspects of the website.

By far the most visited page on the TTC website is the "home page": https://ttc.org.nz/
Because it serves as the club's landing page it must meet a wide range of needs, while still remaining simple and welcoming. Two design choices help achieve this.

1. a familiar, user‑friendly layout that follows common web design patterns, making navigation intuitive for new and returning visitors.
2. a consistent sidebar that provides one‑click access to the most frequently visited pages across the site.

People visit the TTC website for clear reasons:

• Members want to know what activities are scheduled. The home page shows this week's trips and talks without having the leave it. The full schedules are just one click away.
• Visitors want to learn about the club, how to join, and how to get in touch. All one click away, with a brief information provided directly on the home page.
• Visitors and members alike want to explore our extensive trip reports, club history, facilities; publications, and more. These too are a click away.

The home page acts as a simple, effective gateway to everything the club offers.

Resources page

This is one of a series of short fillers about the club's website for the Tararua Tramper. It highlights features and aspects of the website.

One of the lesser-known gems of the TTC website is the "Resources page": https://ttc.org.nz/TTC/Download
Here you will find easy access to a wealth of both TTC and external resources to add to your enjoyment of the hills. For example, the page features books by Peter Jagger, Tony Nolan, and Mark Pickering, all provided with generous permission of the author or their estate. There is fascinating information about the names of many of the places we visit, details on our lodge, our instruction courses, and even backcountry recipes and cookbooks. Take a look - you never know what might pique your interest here.

Site Map

This is one of a series of short fillers about the club's website for the Tararua Tramper. It highlights features and aspects of the website.

Like many well designed websites the TTC's website has a "Sitemap": https://ttc.org.nz/TTC/SiteMap
The Sitemap is a friendly guide for visitors, giving a clear, structured overview of everything on the TTC website. It makes browsing a 'one-click' experience, with access to every topic in a logical, readable layout. The sitemap respects visitor's time, and makes the TTC website feel welcoming, trustworthy, and thoughtfully designed — the kind of place you can explore with confidence.

The Club's website

This is one of a series of short columns about the club's website. It is written by the webteam and aims to encourage you to visit and use our information packed website. You can visit the website at https://ttc.org.nz where you will find over a thousand pages of information, articles, and photos.

The club has had a web site since 1999, covering a number of areas of interest and value to you, as well as an introduction to the club for potential members. The website is kept updated on a weekly and sometimes daily basis, by members and by the webteam who consist of: Peter Whiteford, especially for the trip reports; Simon Davis, technical aspects; Jenna Thoms, and Peter Barber. Importantly you too can contribute directly to the website, but more of this later.

The next few columns will introduce you to what is on the website, how to find your way around it, and what there is to find. For a quick starter, when you visit the website you will see a left hand side bar. Click on the links to go to the page on that subject. Clicking on the club's logo will always take you back to the home page.

Using the website

This is one of a series of short columns about the club's website. It is written by the webteam and aims to encourage you to visit and use our website. You can visit the website at https://ttc.org.nz where you will find over a thousand pages of information, articles, and photos.

One of the most important things about a website is being able to find what you want. On the club's website we try to make this as easy as possible.

Firstly, every page has a standard sidebar on the left, this will direct you to major topic areas. When visiting some topic areas, for example the fixture card, the side bar menu will expand to show extra links specific to that topic.

Then there is the liberal use of "hyper links", these are the clickable text (visually blue underlined text) that appear in page content and take you to a related topic. Hyperlinks can also take you to other websites (visually this is signified with a small icon following the link).

Another important way of finding what you want is the "site map", you can find the site map link near the bottom of the side bar.

Pages can be categorised (or tagged), so another way of finding related information is to look at the categorised list of pages, for example pages about lodge trips.

Lastly, a website needs a search, and the TTC's search is on every page in the top right corner. Needless to say Google also indexes the website and provides links into the website from its search result main entry.

Website who for and what for

This is one of a series of short columns about the club's website. It is written by the webteam and aims to encourage you to visit and use our website. You can visit the website at https://ttc.org.nz where you will find over a thousand pages of information, articles, and photos.

The club's website is for members, ex members prospective members, friends of the club, and for the general public. It provides current information, for example the fixture card, club night information, and comprehensive contact information includeing a who's who. It provides archive information, for example trip and tramping reports, previous who's who and fixture cards. photographs, indicies to the Tararua Tramper and Tararua Annual.

For both members and prospective members it provides information about joining, club instruction, and our wide range of activities.

Email news groups

TTC members use our email lists to share up to the minute information on trips, club nights, and social events. They are great for publicising and organising trips, for organising ad hoc activities, and for discussions about gear, trips, and routes, or related interests of the club.

We have a number of email lists, see Email Groups. These include groups for: ttc announcements (from the committee), ttc news (electronic distribution of the Tararua Tramper); different trip types - biking, FITT, family, climbing, skiing; as well as some administrative ones (general committee, ski and lodge committee, communications).

You will receive notices about trips and club nights from other club members. Contributions of a general tramping and outdoors nature or news are also made.

Sending a message to an email list

To send a message to an email group click on the "Post a message" link for a group on Email Groups. You need to join the group to send a message. Attachments are removed from messages. Replies to messages go to the group.