http://www.usni.org

Situation: The United States Naval Institute (USNI) is recognized as the professional organization of the nation's sea services. As a long-established organization with over 60,000 active members, USNI had grown to a point in which their Web site was no longer equipped with the tools and resources necessary to accomodate further growth.

Objective: USNI was in need of a Web site design that would leverage online technology to modernize the site's design yet accurately reflect USNI's history, mission, and efforts.

Solution: To achieve USNI's goals, Americaneagle.com implemented the following elements:

Modernized Design: The design and functionality of the site were improved to provide visitors with the best possible forum to responsibly raise their voices on issues related to U.S. national defense. With a wider design, the site now takes full advantage of the canvas size of the screen, allowing USNI to make the most of the space on their content-rich site. Furthermore, a Flash-based slideshow on the homepage engages visitors with vivid photography, while simple side navigation bars organize the site’s many pages of content.

E-commerce Enhancements: As a publisher of leading magazines and books that deal with national security, USNI relies on its site to share content with members and to promote and sell publications and merchandise to help underwrite the mission. The organization therefore chose Americaneagle.com’s idev® e-commerce platform as the foundation for its online store. On the front end of the site, shoppers can now navigate products by category and subcategory, view full product details, write and read reviews, see related items, and more. The main page of the online store also automatically updates to showcase the top 10 best selling products by pulling data from the site’s back-end order history.

Robust Content Management System: On the back end of the site, the idev® platform was customized to integrate seamlessly with four databases, so that USNI can now manage all orders, membership data, conference registrations, and donations through its newly built Content Management System. What’s more, the Content Management System utilizes XML import capabilities, allowing USNI staff to upload full magazine issues, images, and any content without changing existing document formats. This technology streamlines the entire process of moving materials to the Web, saving USNI time and money and allowing it to concentrate on growing the site.

Impact Results: Since the site launched, USNI has seen an increase in membership as well as higher overall sales through the updated e-commerce store.

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