Presenting SilverCORD 1.0: INCH Edition

Greetings, fellow INCHlings!  Smack-dab between Christmas and the New Year, I have released the first major revision of the INCH Registration site, featuring SilverCORD 1.0!

When I first designed inchregistration.com in the summer of 2008, I knew nothing about databases or how exactly the website would be used.  I did a lot of things that ultimately made it harder for me to maintain and upgrade it.  But I’ve learned a lot from the experience, so over the past few weeks, I’ve spent countless hours redesigning the guts of the website.  These changes will not only make updates easier and faster, but will also pave the way for some exciting new features, which I hope you will like!  The domain address and classic yellow color are unchanged (most of the changes are under the hood), but here is what’s different:

New Password Encryption

I’ve standardized how I process passwords, which unfortunately means that all your existing passwords will no longer work.  When you first try to log on, please press the “Forgot Password” button, to have the website e-mail you a new password.  Use that the first time you log in, after which you should change it to something easier to remember.

Removed Family Pictures

Most of the family pictures were way out of date, so I’ve removed them all and humbly invite you to e-mail a new one to Farrah!  If you know a thing or two about digital photos, you may upload your family picture yourself, through your INCH account.

SilverCORD 1.0

If you’ve visited the online manual (silvercord.wisdomsbeginning.com), this name should ring a bell.  In an effort to market this website’s features to other co-ops and small schools, I branded it SilverCORD and gave it a cool new logo.

Login Page

I’ve moved the “Account Login” section to the upper-left corner of the login page, to make it easier to log in.

Menu-Based Navigation

The familiar gaggle of buttons on the “Account Home” page have been replaced with a new menu, which now appears at the top of every page.  I hope to eventually improve upon its plain appearance, but it’s fully functional and its contents reflect your individual account privileges.

New Picture Slideshows

We’ve been seriously lacking in pictures (on both websites), so I’ve put in considerable effort to build a new slideshow system, for showcasing families, field trips, and other events.  Farrah has already spent several hours putting up some great pics from our own collection.  Please choose “Pictures” from the menu, and check out the slideshows!  Note that only paid INCH members can view these photos, so they’re safe from the prying eyes of strangers.

Redesigned Member Directory

The old member directory was a bit clunky, so I totally re-wrote it.  You can now find any member’s primary contact info at a quick glance.  Click on the apple icon next to the name to get more details.

More Coming Soon

Next on my sights is the class catalog and registration.  There are several improvements/changes I wish to make, ahead of Spring registration, which will be upon us before we know it!  More details on the way….

Please let me know what you think, and certainly if anything on the site is annoying or broken.

Greg

Your Friendly Neighborhood “Webservant”