BEST PRACTICES FOR CHAPTER WEBSITES

This information is intended to be a brief primer with the understanding that anyone reading will be following established

ASHRAE processes, including all that are outlined in ASHRAE’s Rules of the Board and the Manuals of Chapter and Regions

Operations. Reference to any company or entity does not imply endorsement in any way by ASHRAE’s Communications

Committee.

Best Practices for ASHRAE Chapter Websites from ASHRAE Communications

Committee

Updated: May 11, 2022

BEST PRACTICES FOR CHAPTER

WEBSITES

Getting Started

This document is intended to act as a guideline for the creation and management of ASHRAE Chapter

websites. A well-maintained website is a great tool for chapters to make announcements, attract

members, share content, maintain historical information, establish a web presence, and much more!

While this document establishes some basic standards for chapter websites, each chapter should strive

to create a website that is unique for their membership.

Functional websites must have two items: a domain name and a website host. There are many service

providers that offer one or both services with varying features and price points. As a best practice, the

username and password for these services should be stored in a safe place so that any chapter officer

can access. The backup email address assigned to these services should be an alias or email account

accessible to any chapter officer, not a personal email address.

Financial Investment and Time Commitment

Creating and maintaining a chapter website requires a financial and time commitment from

each chapter. The levels of time and financial commitment depend on what the chapter chooses

their website solution to be. This document attempts to outline various options used by

chapters.

Domain Name and Registration

The domain name is the homepage URL, or the string of text that comes after www. ASHRAE

does not have a policy for a chapter’s domain name, but recommends it meets the following

criteria:

 The domain name of your chapter website should be specific and identifiable such

that it will be a top result when your chapter name is searched via Google or other

search engines.

 The actual name, acronym, abbreviation, or common nickname of your chapter

should be included in the web address.

 The term “ASHRAE” should be included in the domain name.

 The domain should end in .org

This information is intended to be a brief primer with the understanding that anyone reading will be following established

ASHRAE processes, including all that are outlined in ASHRAE’s Rules of the Board and the Manuals of Chapter and Regions

Operations. Reference to any company or entity does not imply endorsement in any way by ASHRAE’s Communications

Committee.

Best Practices for ASHRAE Chapter Websites from ASHRAE Communications

Committee

Updated: May 11, 2022

Chapters should expect to pay between $5-$20 USD annually for domain name registration. To

avoid a lapse in service, domain registration should be set to renew automatically.

Website Hosting Options

A website host is the location where your website files are stored. In the past, website editors

would need to design a website in a file on their computer and then upload the file to the

website host. These days, most website hosts offer a website builder as a part of their service.

Depending on the level of service, chapters should expect to pay between $100 - $200 USD or

more. Hosting by ASHRAE Society is available free of charge to chapters and regions, with

limited support. To inquire about a Society-hosted website, email Communications Committee

Staff Liaison Joslyn Ratcliff at [email protected]

A chapter may elect to create and maintain their website from a blank slate. But it may be

helpful to work from a template. In 2019 the Communications Committee surveyed chapters

and found the most popular website hosting platforms to be Wix and WordPress. To that end,

the Communications Committee maintains, and makes available to chapters free of charge, the

following website templates that chapters may use as a starting point for their website.

 Wix Template:

View format here.

To access template for use by your chapter, email

Communications Committee Staff Liaison Joslyn Ratcliff at jratcliff@ashrae.org.

 WordPress Template:

View format here.

To access template for use by your chapter, email

Communications Committee Staff Liaison Joslyn Ratcliff at [email protected].

Some of the other website hosting services Chapters use include:

 StarChapter

 Shiftweb

 Wild Apricot

 Square Space

 Weebly

 GoDaddy

 Bluefish

 ASHRAE Society Hosting

Some chapters elect to outsource the website design and ongoing maintenance to a 3rd party

company.

This information is intended to be a brief primer with the understanding that anyone reading will be following established

ASHRAE processes, including all that are outlined in ASHRAE’s Rules of the Board and the Manuals of Chapter and Regions

Operations. Reference to any company or entity does not imply endorsement in any way by ASHRAE’s Communications

Committee.

Best Practices for ASHRAE Chapter Websites from ASHRAE Communications

Committee

Updated: May 11, 2022

ASHRAE Society Hosting:

ASHRAE Society supports limited website hosting at no cost to chapters, however, most

chapters choose other more robust solutions with cost associated. This is because ASHRAE does

not provide hosting that supports database-driven sites such as WordPress, Joomla, Wix, or

other third-party solutions. ASHRAE-hosted sites are only provided with a subdomain for their

chapter to use following the format ASHRAEChapter.ashraechapters.org, but a domain name

such as ASHRAEChapter.org, is not provided. Chapters that choose ASHRAE’s hosting are

provided with server space and FTP access.

Suggestions for Chapter Website Content

Pages & Headings

A Chapter Website should include the following pages with the appropriate information.

HELPFUL TIP: Check out the current year’s PAOE Newsletter

to be sure your chapter’s website is earning

points for website content!

Homepage

 Chapter logo –Your chapter’s logo should be already loaded within the Docs and Files

section of your Chapter’s Basecamp. Guidance on chapter logos, including where to

obtain and approved chapter logo, is available online here

. If you need Society to resize

or help you with your logo, they are more than happy to do so, simply email

mailto:logoinformation@ashrae.org.

 Welcome message from President

 Link to the latest newsletter

 Social media links to your chapter’s social media presences (i.e. Facebook, Instagram,

etc.)

Board of Governors and Volunteers

 Contact information for all positions

 Open volunteer positions

 Include Term Year (i.e. 2022-2023)

Calendar / Upcoming Events

 Event Type/Host

 Society

 Regional

 Chapter

This information is intended to be a brief primer with the understanding that anyone reading will be following established

ASHRAE processes, including all that are outlined in ASHRAE’s Rules of the Board and the Manuals of Chapter and Regions

Operations. Reference to any company or entity does not imply endorsement in any way by ASHRAE’s Communications

Committee.

Best Practices for ASHRAE Chapter Websites from ASHRAE Communications

Committee

Updated: May 11, 2022

 Date, time, location, cost, speaker, topic, etc.

Student Activities (SA)

Membership Promotion (MP)

Young Engineers in ASHRAE (YEA)

Women in ASHRAE (WiA)

Research Promotion (RP)

 Include donation button

Chapter Technology Transfer

Grassroots Government Activities (GGA)

Historical Committee

 Past awards

 Pictures from past events

 Past Presidents

 BOG meeting minutes

 Past newsletters

 Awards

 Upcoming nomination deadlines

Career Advertisements / Job Opportunities

 Opportunity for sponsorships

ASHRAE Disclaimer

 “This website is maintained by the XXX Chapter of ASHRAE. ASHRAE chapters do not

represent the official positions of ASHRAE Society nor reflect ASHRAE Society’s policy.

To learn more about the ASHRAE activities on a Society level, please visit the ASHRAE

home page at http://www.ashrae.org.”

Website Maintenance Checklists

Annual Maintenance

It is anticipated that annual maintenance of a chapter website should take 4-8 hours for one

person each year.

 Update the name and contact information for all chapter board members and volunteer

positions.

 Google your chapter website and confirm it shows up at the top of the results.

This information is intended to be a brief primer with the understanding that anyone reading will be following established

ASHRAE processes, including all that are outlined in ASHRAE’s Rules of the Board and the Manuals of Chapter and Regions

Operations. Reference to any company or entity does not imply endorsement in any way by ASHRAE’s Communications

Committee.

Best Practices for ASHRAE Chapter Websites from ASHRAE Communications

Committee

Updated: May 11, 2022

 Update information for the calendar year. Updates may include:

 Annual chapter events (Research promotion fundraisers, Holiday parties, etc.)

 Chapter meetings

 Save-the-dates for upcoming chapter meetings/events

 Award nomination deadlines

 CRC (Chapter Regional Conference) event dates & location

 ASHRAE Society Winter Meeting dates and location

 ASHRAE Society Annual Meeting dates and location

 Review Social Media links and update if necessary.

 Check in with the Chapter President for an updated Welcome Message.

 Check in with the Chapter Treasurer and communicate any financial website needs (i.e.

website hosting fees).

Monthly Maintenance

It is anticipated that monthly maintenance of a chapter website should take 2-4 hours for one

person each month.

 Check in with the Chapter Historian for any pictures from recent events or awards that

can be added to the website.

 Check in with the Chapter Programs Chair for updated information related to Chapter

events & appropriate registration information.

 Check in with the following Chapter Chairs for upcoming events and information to be

posted/updated on website.

 YEA

 WIA

 Student Activities

 Research Promotion

 Membership Promotion

 Grassroots Government Affairs

 Check in with the Chapter President for any specific announcements that should be

posted on the website.

 Check in with the Chapter Secretary for BOG Meeting Minutes that should be archived

on the website.

 Check in with the Chapter Technology Transfer Chair for updated newsletters or other

information that should be posted on the website.

Other resources from ASHRAE’s Communications Committee

 Best Practices for Social Media

This information is intended to be a brief primer with the understanding that anyone reading will be following established

ASHRAE processes, including all that are outlined in ASHRAE’s Rules of the Board and the Manuals of Chapter and Regions

Operations. Reference to any company or entity does not imply endorsement in any way by ASHRAE’s Communications

Committee.

Best Practices for ASHRAE Chapter Websites from ASHRAE Communications

Committee

Updated: May 11, 2022

 Best Practices for Email

 Electronic Tools Used by Chapters

 Office Hours – Get your questions answered by a real-live person!

Other resources from Society

• ASHRAE Marketing Central has lots of great information and materials to use for your chapter

and chapter website.

• Website content can be hard to find. An insider tip is to sign up for newsletters from Society to

get great information to share on your chapter website. Chapter Notes is sent monthly and

contains great share-able information for your website.

1.201.010 ASHRAE Policy and Procedure for Format, Activity, and Content of Web Sites for ASHRAE Groups