Web Clinic for HUD Partners Helps Many

Web Clinics for HUD Partners are taught by HUD's knowledgeable and experienced Web Managers. Pictured here are Eric Ramoth, Region II Web Manager in New York/New Jersey, and Sam Gallagher, Departmental Web Manager in Washington, DC (seated)

"A full house" described attendance at the free Web Clinic for HUD Partners in Orlando on March 28, 2006. Employees from 15 government agencies, 6 homeless service providers, 6 public housing agencies, several non-profit housing agencies, and a variety of community service organizations came to learn the ABC's of building and managing a good public service website.

One sunny Spring morning in 2006, over 50 people arrived in Orlando from all parts of Florida on a mission. They came to attend a Web Clinic for HUD Partners, seeking knowledge and resources to help them reach and serve their organizations' target audiences through one of the most powerful communication tools of the 21st century-the world wide web. They represented 15 government agencies, 6 homeless service providers, 6 public housing agencies, several non-profit housing agencies, and various community service organizations. This training was held in the Community Room of The Villas at Hampton Park, a new affordable housing community operated by Orlando Housing Authority.

The purpose of HUD's Web Clinics is to help public service organizations work more efficiently using the Internet. These free one-day workshops follow an easy to understand, step-by-step outline, demystifying the process of creating and managing a successful website. HUD's Web Managers, rich in experience and passion, share important lessons they have learned over the past 10 years building HUD's award-winning site.

Many people are relieved to learn that you don't have to be a technical wizard to implement an effective website. One focus of the Clinic is to help you organize and plan properly, involving key people in your organization from the beginning to ensure success. Practical advice on design, marketing, and creating content and navigation with your audience in mind are shared. Launching and maintaining a good website does not have to be expensive; many low-cost or no-cost resources and services are suggested to help you cover the more technical aspects.

A popular part of the Clinic is Show and Tell, when attendees use their newfound knowledge to critique existing websites offered by volunteers in the audience. This is a useful exercise to identify things to improve or spot features that work well which could be duplicated. At the end of the day, everyone took home lots of information to help their organization build or improve their website. Here are some of their comments:

"Great guidance on how to start!"

"Easy to follow format; stayed away from technical terms that might be intimidating."

"Quick paced, to the point, good visual examples and printed materials for reference and use in the future."

"Very informative for all levels."

Learn more about our free Web Clinics for HUD Partners. This may be just what your organization could use! If so, email us to let us know, so we can plan to bring another Clinic to Florida.