 The EmpowerTM system allows your staff to update the content of the web site using a simple web browser such as Internet Explorer. It requires no web development skills and is similar to creating and editing a document in Microsoft® Word. With the Empower system, you are never limited to a certain number of pages or type of content. Our standard system allows you to add links, images, movies, discussion boards, audio clips, surveys, interactive forms, and many other types of content. We are constantly adding new functionality to the system, so if you have something you would like to do with your Empower site that is not currently offered, we can probably build it for you. The bottom line is that Empower can grow with you and will never limit what you can do with your web site. Empower puts you in control of your web site.
Technical Details
 The Empower system is based on the popular open source DotNetNuke (www.DotNetNuke.com) framework. DotNetNuke (often called DNN) is in use by over 600,000 developers and is the most widely used Microsoft®-based open source content management system. It is currently ranked in the top 20 of all open source products—and is the highest ranked content management system—at the popular open source web site SourceForge.net. Several of our employees are on the leadership team of the DotNetNuke project.
 The Empower web site management system utilizes Microsoft’s ASP.NET platform in conjunction with Microsoft SQL Server. The reliability, development flexibility, and power of this platform have made it the most popular development platform for enterprise-class applications (.NET Versus J2EE: .NET Has Clearly Arrived, Forrester Research, September 2004).
Extendable Architecture
 The EmpowerTM system uses a modular architecture. This architecture allows any sort of functionality to be added to an Empower-based web site quickly and easily. Many modules of functionality are already built into the Empower system and more are added each month. Current modules include (but are not limited to):
- Announcements
- Banner advertising
- Blog
- Contact list
- Content rotator
- Discussion board/forum
- Document library
- Event calendar
- FAQ
- Guestbook
- Links list
- Maps
- RSS newsfeeds
- Video and audio player
- Form creator
- Photo album
- Survey
- And many more!
All of the standard modules are available to every client using the Empower system at no additional charge. We also offer specialized modules, such as an ecommerce storefront, for a nominal monthly fee. In addition, if you need to do something with your site that Empower does not currently support, we will write a custom module for you.
Benefit
You can be assured that your Empower site will grow as you do. There will never be a situation that forces you to switch to another vendor in order to add a particular function to your web site. Because we are constantly adding new modules of functionality, you always have the latest options available for your site. In addition, we can likely integrate your custom web application directly with your Empower web site.
Completely Flexible Graphic Design
 Traditionally, most “content managed” sites look the same. They all seem to share a common “template” or structure, with client-specific images added for effect. This is no longer the case with the Empower system. We can create a completely custom design for your site that reinforces your organization’s mission, vision, and values. Your site can contain any design or navigation elements available on the web today.
You may also choose to have different designs for each section of your site. You can use this method to visually separate various sections of your site based on the target audience or type of content.
Benefit
Your site will portray your organization’s character. No other site on the web will look like yours. The design of your site can be modified in any way should your requirements change in the future.
Open Membership Services
 Visitors can register to become members or registered users of Empower web sites. Once a visitor is registered, they can be granted access to particular pages of the site. It is even possible to charge a subscription fee for registration. This single membership is shared across all modules, including the discussion board and ecommerce modules, so your users will only need to sign in once to access all of your services. You can also send bulk email messages to registered users.
Empower’s membership services can also be integrated with your existing directory provider. If you have a Microsoft Active Directory or LDAP system in place the Empower system can be configured to pull user information directly from these systems.
Benefit
The goal of many modern web sites is community-building. The Empower system supports this at its very core through membership services. This also allows your site to serve many different purposes: providing secure information to employees, managing transactions with customers and constituents, providing a communications structure for users of your site, etc. Also, because Empower can be integrated with your existing directory system, user information can be maintained in the same central location.
Accessibility
 The Empower system meets or exceeds the U.S. Section 508 guidelines (see http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm) and the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (see http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT) for access to web sites by visitors with disabilities. In addition, we guarantee that browsers with a market share greater than 3% will be fully supported by your site.
Benefit
Your site will be usable by all visitors, including those with non-standard browsers and screen readers. Also, our cross-browser testing confirms that your site will look as intended in nearly every browser in use today. This allows your message to come across clearly and accurately for all users.
User Experience Monitoring
 Spence Hackney Design monitors every Empower site to ensure that the site is functioning correctly and is delivering the correct content to web site visitors. Should there be a problem with your site, Spence Hackney Design will proactively correct the issue with little or no intervention on your part.
Benefit
In today’s environment, even minimal web site down time can have a costly effect. Our monitoring services can help minimize the damages caused by technical failures or unauthorized modification of your site.
Usage Reporting
 Empower provides extensive reporting of how users are interacting with your web site. Not only can you see historical information about the pages of your site that users have visited, but you can also see how users are interacting with your site at the present time.
Benefit
This detailed reporting information provides you with the data you need about your users to make the best possible strategic decisions concerning content placement and site features. These analytic services can also be integrated with your marketing campaigns enabling you to gauge the effectiveness of various marketing channels.
 Localization
Empower includes a multi-language localization feature which allows administrators to easily translate their projects and portals into any language.
Benefit
It is easy to make your site available to a wide-range of people groups that speak disparate languages.
Integrated Search
 Search functionality is built directly into the Empower core. This search functionality not only allows searching of content created in the Empower system, but it can also be extended to index content from other sources.
Benefit
This integrated search feature allows robust searching of all content without any additional software. In addition, because other sources can be integrated into the system, all search functionalities can be integrated into one standard interface.
Inline Editing and Content Placement
 Traditional content management systems require a web site editor to make changes to pages using a specialized web site that is completely separate from the web site the public sees. This causes confusion because the web site editor cannot actually see what the web site visitor sees while he or she is editing the page. The EmpowerTM system uses inline editing to allow web site editors to make changes to the site while looking at the site just as web site visitors see it. There is no need for a specialized editing web site.
In addition, rearranging the content of an Empower site is greatly simplified. Users can simply “drag” content blocks to a new location on the page.
Benefit
Using inline editing reduces the amount of training necessary for a web site editor to manage the site, while also reducing the amount of time it takes to actually modify the site. It also produces a much more aesthetically pleasing site because the web site editor can see exactly what the site looks like as they edit it.
Comprehensive Training
 An exhaustive Users’ Guide to Empower is delivered to all clients. This guide provides step-by-step instructions to assist end-users with all common tasks pertaining to the editing of an Empower web site. In addition, Spence Hackney Design offers business-hours telephone support and onsite training to meet your every need.
Benefit
We provide every necessary tool to make sure you are using Empower as effectively as possible. You will be able to find the answer to any question you might have in an efficient and timely manner.
Familiar Interface
 The Empower system uses interface components very similar to Microsoft Windows®. The primary text editing module provides toolbars that mimic those found in Microsoft® Word and also supports common shortcut key combinations.
Benefit
Users are able to use the Empower system with much less training than traditional content management systems, because they are able to execute tasks using methods they are already familiar with from their use of Microsoft® products.
Open Source Code
The core functionality of the EmpowerTM system is based upon the open source DotNetNuke system. This core software is developed through a tightly managed cooperative agreement with thirty core development companies and individuals. In addition countless other developers contribute functionality, bug fixes, and improvements to the system. DotNetNuke is currently in use by over 600,000 developers around the world., and it is consistently in the top 20 most popular projects at the leading SourceForge.net open source software web site.
Benefit
Due to the vast number of users and robust developer base, the core of the Empower system is heavily tested and nearly bug-free. In addition, new features are rapidly added to the system at a pace unmatched by traditional commercial software developed by a single company. The solidity of the DotNetNuke project exceeds other open source projects because its tightly managed core team is able to provide well-planed direction and oversight to the development of the DotNetNuke product.
Best Practices and Robust Development Platform
The Empower system is built using Microsoft’s latest development platform, ASP.NET. The .NET architecture is a revolutionary system that allows web applications to have the power and functionality of desktop applications. The .NET system is the most widely used object-oriented web development environment with tens of thousands of developers world wide (.NET Versus J2EE: .NET Has Clearly Arrived, Forrester Research, September 2004).
Microsoft’s best practices for software development are strictly adhered to throughout the Empower application. The application is strictly divided into data, application, business logic, and presentation layers. Microsoft’s “Application Blocks” are employed whenever possible.
Benefit
The core of the Empower system can be modified or extended by any developer with reasonably current technical skills. This reduces the cost of extending the system and ensures that the system will be supportable well into the future.
Supported by Microsoft ®
Microsoft® has been a long supporter of the open source core on which Empower is based. Microsoft has featured it at their Professional Developers Conference (PDC) and has also showcased it on several of their web sites and other media outlets.
Benefit
Because of this partnership with Microsoft, the core of the Empower system has become a showcase for the newest Microsoft technologies. This gives our development team advance access to the most current technologies and allows us to adapt the Empower system to deal with them before they are released to the general public. In addition, when our developers have a question or problem they have priority access to Microsoft staff. |