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Lanham, Md., March 2, 2005 — The website of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has just undergone a major overhaul. Completely new features include drop down screens with supporting navigation bars ... and full search capability of the entire website. These features should help both members of ESA and other users find what they need in a faster and more logical manner. In addition, much of the text has been rewritten with an emphasis on brevity and clarity. For example, dramatic changes in content and organization can be seen in the Membership and Certification areas.

“As our website grew in importance over the past several years, it also grew in complexity. We added sections and pages as responses to issues as they arose. Over time, that caused the site to become cluttered and fractured,” said Executive Director Paula Lettice. “We were finally able to take the time to step back, analyze entsoc.org as a comprehensive product, and make improvements from there.”

The new site now includes an e-commerce module which allows for secure, real-time, credit card payments for transactions such as new member and renewal dues, member subscriptions, and annual meeting registration fees. As part of the e-commerce functionality, members and other users will soon be able to update their own records in ESA’s member and customer database.

The new site will also have a Members-Only section that allows free access to the ESA Newsletter, membership directory, and Arthropod Management Tests (an annual database of short reports on screening tests for the management of arthropods). Only one login is required to access any of these items.

Upcoming improvements will include Ent-Chats (a series of discussion boards on topics related to membership and entomology), the ability to pay invoices online, and a subscription form for non-members, institutions, and agents.

We hope you will visit the site (http://www.entsoc.org) often and use it as your first stop for information from and about the Society.

Founded in 1889, ESA is a non-profit organization committed to serving the scientific and professional needs of approximately 5,500 entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. ESA's membership includes representatives from educational institutions, government, health agencies, and private industry.

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