Welcome to the new Elks.org!
We've turned over a new leaf! After a decade of the old blue-and-gold look, we sat down and decided that it was time to give Elks.org a facelift for the modern era. Over the last several months we've been working hard on every corner of the site, changing every single page to make the site easier to use and bring it up to code with modern standards. We're proud of what we've done and think the new Elks.org is a web presence befitting our great Order.
What's New?
Aside from a more friendly color scheme, we've put an incredible amount of thought into making the new Elks.org easier to read and easier to navigate. Text is larger across the board. Navigational items like menus have become intelligent and more efficient: The new navigational menu on the top of the site packs four menus into the space of one. The current section is always highlighted, so you'll never lose your place. We even created a site map that also appears on the bottom of every page, so you'll always be able to find your way around.
Another noticable improvement is the increased ease of logging in. Since many of our pages are restricted to members of the Order, we've added a login box to the top-right corner of every page. This way, you can tell instantly if you're signed in, and if you're not, do so without leaving the page you're on.
We've made extensive use of scripting to make the site easier to use. The Lodge Locator now works dynamically and near-instantly, without loading any new pages. The navigational menu changes on the fly as you hover move across it, and the options change color so you never lose track of where you are on the site.
Perhaps most importantly, we've embraced the movement of standards-compliant design. This means that the new Elks.org is programmed with careful attention to detail and an utmost respect for the proper way to create a website. Because we've followed web standards and best practices, the site looks and acts the same in a variety of browsers and devices. An added benefit is that the code of standards-compliant pages is often more compact, meaning that, overall, the site loads faster whether you're on DSL or dialup.
Optimal Computer Configuration
The hallmark of a good website is one that is compatible with most any computer configuration out there. The new Elks.org site has been engineered to work well in numerous configurations and on any browser, but some features are simply not possible with older setups. For the optimal Elks.org experience, we recommend:
- A modern, standards-compliant web browser. For PC users, Firefox is free and currently the most modern and safest browser available. Mac users will find Apple's Safari (built in to Mac OS X) equally capable. Both of these browsers have built in RSS readers that can be used to subscribe to our news feeds.
- A screen resolution of at least 1024x768 pixels. The site will attempt to determine if you are running a lower resolution and, while you won't be restricted from seeing any content or using any features, some aspects of the site will be degraded in order to fit into a smaller resolution. We've prepared a page about increasing your screen resolution so that you can get the most out of the new Elks.org and other sites on the web.
- JavaScript support enabled. In order to take full advantage of capabilities of the modern web, JavaScript is a necessity. Parts of the site - most notably the navigational menu - are enhanced with JavaScript and are automatically degraded if it is not available.
