The best Chamber of Commerce and membership organization websites grab the attention of visitors and increase community revenues.

Your site may be the first glimpse many people will have of your community; so make the introduction informative and comforting. Tourists want to have fun, new residents want to set up logistics and convenience, and businesses want to make money. Show them all how those things are possible! Be the information solution for everyone who surfs into your virtual Chamber.

Read on to learn the common elements found on successful Community websites. Keep in mind that all feature and content areas including site navigation menus are fully customizable by you, the site owner. Also, if you choose, members may have the ability to maintain their own online profiles, saving you a great deal of administrative time and money.
 

Visitor and Tourism Info

Folks vacationing or planning to vacation in your area will go to your site to find out what to do during their visit. Let them know what fun they’ll have! Give them hotel and motel options. Will it be the Civil War era bed and breakfast or the Holiday Inn? Explain what your area has to offer the single adventurous type, the older couple, or the family with four energetic children who need to bounce off the walls for most of their waking hours. Recommend nearby theme or water parks and historic landmarks; or captivate them with a little local lore. After a few minutes on your site, visitors should be running to pack their bags.

Relocation Info

People moving to your area want to know how the schools measure up, what their job prospects are, where to find a suitable place to live and worship, and what to do in their off time. Make them excited to become part of your community! Focus on all that the community has to offer the new resident. Give some background on their new home. Describe who founded the area, when and why. Tell them how to keep up-to-date on the local happenings. Local newspaper information should be available as well as any other sources of pertinent breaking news. Festivals and cultural offerings are always of interest to newcomers. Describe the theme or content of any nearby museums. Provide information on the libraries and parks. If your community hosts a regular gala such as an annual flower festival, hamburger-eating contest, or blue-ribbon-pie-baking extravaganza, give the dates and highlights so the new resident will be sure to attend.

Calendar of Events

What's going on! People look to the Chamber of Commerce for information on area activities. Encourage community participation and demonstrate you have an active Chamber by listing upcoming events. Provide information, dates, and specifics regarding attendance on banquets, economic development meetings, business related presentations or fund-raisers. Advertise festivals and shindigs so your website visitors will know you are on top of happenings in the area. Sponsor fun "themed" luncheons – anything from mystery theater to a horse care presentation – designed to bring community and business owners together. The more thorough your event calendar, the better impression you will make on website visitors. Certainly, an active Chamber of Commerce will draw enthusiastic new members.

Membership Info

Convince small business owners that they absolutely must join by describing all the wonderful extras they’ll miss if they don’t. Do not ask them what they can do for your Chamber (that will take care of itself with their membership dues and participation), tell them what your Chamber can do for them. Include them in an online database of member businesses. They’ll love that visitors to your site seeking information on area business will be able to find them. It buys them credibility and helps drum up more business for them! Offer them free advertising in the Chamber’s monthly newsletter. Supply “members only” access to bids on government projects, special pricing on bulk mail for their company, leadership-training programs – online or real time, or discounts on products and services from other Chamber members. Make these items accessible via your website. This is a huge selling point for successful Chamber sites. The best Chamber of Commerce websites today offer instant application and immediate access to “members only” goodies – all right on the site! Don’t lose potential new members by making them join the old-fashioned way via snail mail. Progressive business owners want to work with a progressive Chamber.

About The Organization

Site visitors want to know if your goals are in sync with what they seek in a community. Tell them when your Chamber of Commerce was founded and why. A mission statement is a must! Let them know what your Chamber does to make your area a great place to live, work, and play. For example, “Our mission is to unite small businesses in the community for the purpose of working together to create an economic environment where business can prosper.” Or, “Our mission is to develop a community which promotes economic growth via small business teamwork, tourism, and pancake breakfasts.” Decide what your Chamber goal truly is, then create a mission statement that clearly spells it out and make sure everyone knows it.

Contact Info

Make it easy for people to contact the Chamber by providing the address, phone number and email address. List board members by name and department with their email addresses and phone numbers, as well, so visitors can determine easily who to contact with their specific inquiries.

A successful Chamber of Commerce website is information-rich and modern; with all the functionality 21st century web surfers have come to expect. Make your site an indispensable resource for tourists and business owners alike; and watch your revenues explode.