We’re ready to move ahead with the next phases of DWHSA’s members-only web sites – but, first, we need your help!
Before we can proceed with new sections like the directories of destinations and resorts, we’re asking all DWHSA members to help us with the following to-do items by Friday, Oct. 30:
- Log into each of the two new members-only sites.
- Begin posting in the new DWHSA online forum.
- Edit your member profile that will appear in the online membership directory.
- Add icons to the home screens of your mobile devices so that you can access the sites more quickly.
Task # 1: Log into both sites.
Now, DWHSA has two sites for members: (1) the new primary site that contains the online forum, the calendar of events, the blog, and the new member directory, and (2) the new resources site that contains the online course, the webinar video library, the resource center, and other materials for members.
You’ll only need to remember one web site address to log into both sites: DWHSA.com. When you go to this page, scroll to the bottom – and, you’ll see two live links there that will take you to each site!
Your login for the primary site will be (a) your email address that we have on file for you as a DWHSA member and (b) the default password abcd1234 (or a different password, if you’ve changed it). Here’s a handy guide to logging into and navigating around the new primary members-only site.
Your login for the resources site will be (a) your DWHSA username that you’ve used previously to log into DWHSA.com (typically, it’s your first name and last name, lower case, merged into a single word) and (b) abcd1234 (or a different password, if you’ve changed it).
Please log into each site – and, let us know if you have trouble logging in! We want to make sure that every member’s login information works for both sites.
Task # 2: Post in the new DWHSA forum.
Once you log into the primary site (the first link found at the bottom of DWHSA.com), you’ll see the online forum area. This handy guide will show you how to read the forum posts, reply to them, and add your own posts.
Over time, we’re asking you to think this way about networking with other members:
- If your question or issue is something that requires a fast, specific answer (e.g., an update on beach conditions at a specific resort for clients who’re leaving tomorrow), please post in the DWHSA Facebook group.
- If your question or issue is something that should be saved and archived for other members to find later (e.g., your report on a specific resort that you’ve just inspected), please post in the new online forum. (Members can search the forum by keywords – and, the forum does a much better job saving your post and any replies than Facebook does.)
It takes a while for new habits to kick in – so, to generate more traffic as the forum gets off the ground, we’ll do eight weekly prize drawings (starting the week of Oct. 12, 2015, and going through the week of Nov. 30) – and, every time you start a post in the forum or you reply to an existing post, we’ll enter your name in the drawing! The top prize each week will be $25 cash! And, you can enter as many times as you wish – every time you post, we’ll add your name again for that week’s drawing! (At the end of each week, we’ll discard the names and start fresh the following week.)
Task # 3: Edit your member profile.
Next, we’re asking you to log into the main members-only site and edit your profile page – the page that will appear in the new members-only directory! Here’s a list of step-by-step instructions – and, here’s a video below that shows you, page by page, how to review and edit your profile page. (You’ll also find the one simple step you can take if you wish to “hide” your page from the member directory completely.)
VERY IMPORTANT: If you change the email address that’s shown currently in your member profile, please email us at support@dwhsa.com to give us your preferred, updated email address (so that we may change it on the email lists we use to send you the DWHSA newsletters). This new web site system is supposed to alert us when you update your email address, but we don’t want to take any chances – so, if you update your email address, please let us know at support@dwhsa.com!
Task # 4: Add icons to your mobile device home screens.
For easier access to the forum (or to either site), you can add an icon(s) on the home screen of your mobile devices. That way, you’ll just tap the icon for either site on your smartphone or tablet home screen – and, you’ll be taken directly to either site!
ANDROID
- Open the web browser on your smartphone.
- Go to DWHSA.com, click on the first link at the bottom of the page, and log into the new primary members-only site. (Option: You can go directly to the new site’s log-in screen with this address: dwhsa45.wildapricot.org) Check the “Remember Me” box on the login screen if you want your phone to remember part or all of your login information.
- Once you’ve logged into the members-only site, click on the Forum link in the navigation menu.
- Once you’re on the forum page, tap the “Menu” button on your phone and then tap the “Add to homescreen” option in the pop-up menu that appears. Your phone will ask you to enter a name for the shortcut (e.g., “DWHSA forum”), and then the phone will add an icon with that name on the home screen.
(Note: These instructions work for the Chrome browser on an Android phone. If you use other browsers on your Android phone, the instructions may vary a bit – e.g., with Firefox, you’ll tap the menu button, tap the Page option, and then tap the “Add to Home Screen” option in the drop-down menu that appears.)
iOS (iPhone, iPad)
- Open the web browser on your smartphone.
- Go to DWHSA.com, click on the first link at the bottom of the page, and log into the new primary members-only site. (Option: You can go directly to the new site’s log-in screen with this address: dwhsa45.wildapricot.org) Check the “Remember Me” box on the login screen if you want your phone to remember part or all of your login information.
- Once you’ve logged into the members-only site, click on the Forum link in the navigation menu.
- Once you’re on the forum page, tap the “Share” button on the web browser’s toolbar – it’s the button that’s a rectangle with an arrow pointing upward. (It’ll be in the toolbar at the top of the screen for iPads and at the bottom of the screen for iPhones.) Then, tap the “Add to Home Screen” icon in the Share menu that pops up.
- Your phone will ask you to enter a name for the shortcut (e.g., “DWHSA forum”), and then the phone will add an icon with that name on the home screen.
If you have a different type of mobile device, you may need to ask your service provider how to add an icon on your home screen.
After you follow these steps, you’ll notice a new icon sitting on your home screen. From then on, you can just tap that icon to go into the new DWHSA site! (You may be asked to log in when you tap the icon – that’s a security step to keep non-members out.)
And, you don’t have to go all the way into the forum part of the site before you add the icon to your home screen. If you prefer, you can stop at the main welcome page (the one that appears after you log in) and follow the steps to adding the icon to your home screen. That way, you’ll see all of your options (calendar, blog, forum) when you tap the icon on your home screen in the future.
Once you’ve added the primary site to your home screen, you can follow these same steps to add the DWHSAMembers.com resources site as an icon on your home screen, too!