Welcome to the New 1715 Fleet Society Website

I’m excited to welcome you to the new 1715 Fleet Society Website!

From the first moment I spoke with Ben about the possibility of a site redesign, it was clear he had a particular vision; one that would retain the charm and high quality imagery of the existing site, but also one that would bring new features and added functionality for its loyal members and public viewers.

We met many times over the course of several months discussing graphics, design, and layout. We pored over every inch of the site; no coin was left unturned.

I’d like to highlight for you a few of the new features you’ll find at the new 1715 Fleet Society Website:

A Fluid / Responsive Design

The site responds to your browser size and looks just as great on desktops as it does on your mobile phone. It was built for accessibility and works across all modern browsers.

A Simplified Menu

The new site features a single menu system that allows the user to navigate to nearly any page of the website from easy-to-access horizontal bar on the top of the page.

Email Updates

In the footer of every page on the site you’ll see a section titled “Receive Email Updates.” Filling in that form with your email address and subscribing will deliver every new post on the site directly to your email box. Never miss a new post again!

Unified Archives

The new 1715 Fleet Society website archives have been unified and collected into categories all displayed in the sidebar of every archive page and single view document page. This allows you to view and navigate between any area of the archives without having to continually click the back button or move between other areas of the site to find your way again.

You’ll also notice the ability to leave comments on any post, article, document or other archive listing. We encourage your comments on every post – it helps spread knowledge and understanding of the events surrounding the sinking of the fleet and also keeps us informed of new developments and findings.

Above all, it keeps our community vibrant and relevant!

The All New Calendar

The new 1715 Fleet Society Calendar is dynamic and responsive. It displays both single and recurring events and allows members of the public to register for events and for admins of the Fleet Society to manage RSVPs and sent e-tickets for those events. It allows you to download events directly to your computer as well.

View Images Full Screen

The imagery on the 1715 Fleet Society website has always been fantastic. We kept the same quality imagery in most cases, and in some cases we improve upon that quality with even higher resolution graphics. On posts and pages with multiple images we’ve installed a full-screen image viewer that allows you to focus on the imagery and easily scroll between images without interference of text or other on-screen items. The full screen viewer is available wherever you can click on an image and load it on the page.

The 1715 Fleet Society Merchandise

We’ve updated the new 1715 Fleet Society website store; same great products – all new view and functionality. We’ve integrated PayPal directly into the shopping cart, which means once you add a product to the cart, you’ll be taken to PayPal to finish the transaction. When that transaction is done, you’ll also be taken right back to the 1715 Fleet Society website.

We’ve also added a shipping module that will accurately calculate shipping fees based on the location to which you request the product(s) be shipped, and allow the customer to choose from the most advantageous (and inexpensive) method for his or her needs.

Member Roll

In late November 2014 the 1715 Fleet Society opened up a membership program for those who not only believe in the mission of the society, but who take a pro-active role in promoting the 300th anniversary and to the scholarly study of the fleet and its history. If you’re interested in the program visit the 1715 Fleet Society Membership page.

Looking to the Future

We’ll be adding additional functionality over the coming months and my company, OrgSpring, will remain on task as web administrator for the new 1715 Fleet Society Website. My goal, and the goal of the society, is to bring you the most up-to-date and the most scholarly information, and to deliver it with the highest quality imagery and quality. I hope you’ll send me your comments and questions… and recommendations for improvement.

A Note About Your Internet Browser

The 1715 Fleet Treasure still remains after 300 years because it has been lovingly maintained by its curators. In the same way, the new website represents steps taken by the founding members of the society to keep the site and its content fresh and relevant. Doing so means working with modern browsers that will insure the longevity of the site. That’s why it has been designed with the modern browser in mind.

For those with older browsers (IE 8 or previous versions) there may be some elements of the site that do not appear consistently. This is not a flaw of the site – it is your browser.

You may not know this, but Microsoft, creator of Internet Explorer, will no longer support the browser version 8 and below. These were products bundled with the old software Microsoft Windows XP, which is officially no longer supported by Microsoft as of April 2014. Additionally, the future of the web is in sites that work across all devices. This is simply not possible with older versions of browsers like IE8. They’re on version 11 now, which, believe it or not, represents nearly 6 upgrades since IE version 8. Yes, I know – the numbers don’t make sense. But, Microsoft has issued a security warning for older browsers like IE 9. It is CRITICAL that you update your browser – it can actually be a security risk for your computer. Why is it critical? Because browser versions 9 and newer can update themselves with patches and older version cannot. Old browsers and out-of-date software are the leading ways in which viruses enter your computer – sometimes without you even knowing.

We want you to have an enjoyable experience when viewing the 1715 Fleet Society website. If you do experience issues viewing the site please send me an email and troubleshoot it personally. If you are using an older browser, I urge you to update as soon as possible!

Thank you for allowing me to work on this great website and to be a member of your society. I look forward to meeting or speaking with you all soon!

Sincerely,

Craig Grella

Executive Director, OrgSpring