Web Site Features, Tips & Tricks
Welcome to the all-new Mustang.org! If updating a web site is like restoring a Mustang, this is a brand-spankin'-new fresh-off-the-line 2011 Mustang GT. Every part of this site is brand-new. It even has that new web site smell.
MCA Members-Only
Some sections of this site are open to everyone, others are open to registered members only, but most are available to MCA Members only. Non-MCA Members won't be able to read all of the articles, read and participate in all of the forums, or post classified ads, so join MCA to enjoy all of the benefits this site provides.
MCA Memberships & Web Site Accounts
An MCA Membership and Web Site Account are different. You can have an MCA membership and not have a forum user name, and you can join the forums without joining MCA (although you won't have access to everything).
MCA Members: How to Log In
If there was a valid email address in your MCA membership file, your old username and password should grant you access to this site. If you enter an incorrect user name or password, you will be provided with a link to have your password reset. If you still have difficulty, send us a note.
If you did not have a valid email address on file, you must create a new web site account and link it to your MCA membership. To do so, click "Join" in the red navigation bar at the top of the screen. Enter your date of birth (so MCA complies with COPPA laws), and on the next page, select "I am a current or former member of the Mustang Club of America," and proceed through the registration process. You will be prompted for your MCA Membership Number and Expiration Date for verification.
Non-MCA Members
You can join this web site without joining MCA. We hope that giving potential MCA members a preview of the features available will entice them to join. Also, Mustang owners can join an MCA Regional Chapter without joining MCA, and this web site has message forums for all MCA Regional Clubs. If you join the site but are not an MCA member, you can still participate in your local club's discussions.
Moving Forward
All of the features of the old web site are on this one. Please let us know if anything is missing.
More Than a Message Forum
Beyond what you see on the front-end, this web site also includes membership management, processing, and reporting tools for MCA administrative staff. This is not an out-of-the-box web site that just required us to upload a logo and enter the name of the club. A lot of custom work went into making this site meet the needs of MCA members and MCA management.
We Crave Your Feedback
Please ask any questions about the site, let us know what features you like, don't like, and want to have added to the site. Click here to contact us.
Below are some of the features of this web site:
- Content Management System: The CMS is what you see when you visit the home page. Articles are organized into sections with security access controlled by user groups (MCA Members, non-MCA members, guests, etc.). Expand the Sections menu on the left to navigate.
- Secure Sign-Ons: Instead of creating an account for all MCA members, we're going to allow members to create their own accounts. This is infinitely more secure than setting the user name and password to widely-known values such as MCA number and last name, and it's much more efficient and affordable than assigning randomly-generated passwords to each account then contacting each individual member to tell them what their password is.
- Article-Based Publishing: While web site administrators will publish the articles, anyone can be an author because admins can promote forum topics to articles to display on the home page. So if you write a review of a show or share a Mustang story on the MCA forums, it could be featured on the home page.
- Easy Access to Important Info: The home page not only contains the most recent articles published, it shows recent posts to the MCA Twitter and Facebook accounts and lists the latest forum and blog posts. You can quickly and easily get to the message forums, event list, club list, photo gallery, classified ads, Mustang Hall of Fame, sponsor list, and member blogs.
- MCA Documentation: From the home page, click on "About MCA" then "Administration" to read the MCA Bylaws, past Board of Directors Meeting Minutes, or view the list of MCA Officers and Directors. The Judging section includes rule books, judging sheets, classification guides and more.
- Message Forums: If you want to talk Mustangs, this is the place to be! There are discussion categories for each Mustang body style, Mustang racing, Mustang toys, etc. You can find Mustang owners in your area in the Regional Discussion section. There are private sections for Board Members and Judges. There is even a forum for each and every MCA regional club! You can post pictures or create polls, form social groups and maintain friend lists.
- Member Blogs: Are you modifying your new Mustang? Restoring a classic? Why not blog about it?
- Upcoming Events: See the list of MCA National Shows and other national and regional Mustang events. If your club is hosting an MCA regional show, add it to the list! We can create calendars for regional clubs upon request. Stay tuned for a possible change in the Events List format.
- Member Garages: Post photos and info about your Mustangs and search for others! Want to know what a Shaker hood would look like on your red 2005 Mustang? It's easy to search the database and find what you're looking for.
- Regional Clubs: What are the Mustang clubs closest to you? With the new site, you can view all MCA regional clubs on a Google map and zoom in to your region to find the closest ones, even if they're across state lines.
- Photo Gallery: The official MCA photo gallery will include the cars featured in Mustang Times as well as photos from our coverage of MCA National Shows and other events like SEMA and the Detroit Auto Show, but the gallery also include Member Galleries, where you can create albums for photos from Mustang shows.
- Classified Ads: Want to sell your Mustang or pick up some new wheels? The members-only classified ads make it easy to buy and sell Mustangs and Mustang parts. You can even start an auction and let members bid!
- Mustang Hall of Fame: The Hall of Fame has been redesigned and features photos in virtual frames and biographies on virtual plaques.
- MCA Store: The all-new MCA Store offers easy shopping and secure online payments.
Today's Tip: Quickly Find New Posts
While viewing the message forums, click "New Posts" on the blue navigation bar at the top of the page. This will display all of the discussions that have been created or updated since your last visit. When you've caught up, click "Forum Actions" on the blue bar, then click "Mark Forums Read".
Today's Tip: Topic Subscriptions
When you post a new topic or reply to an existing one, you will be automatically subscribed to the discussion. You'll get an email notice when a new reply is posted.
You can subscribe to a topic without posting in it by clicking "Thread Tools" then "Subscribe to this Thread". You can then select how often you want to receive updates and how they should be delivered.
To get a notification when I post a new tip for using this web site, subscribe to this topic!
Great idea for a thread Brad!
Today's Tip: Mustang News Central
Did you know that the MCA's new web site can be a one-stop source for all the Mustang news you need to know? From the home page, expand the News section then click Mustang News to view RSS Mustang news feeds from several sites on one page!
Today's Tip: Your Mustang Garage
If you haven't done so already, check out Mustang Garage, where you can post info and specs and upload photos of your Mustangs. You can also search for members who have Mustangs similar to yours or who have installed a modification you're considering. For example, select 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 for "Year" and enter "Vortech" beside "Performance" and click "Search Now" to find all 2006-2009 Mustangs with a Vortech supercharger.
Hey Brad, I just noticed a small design flaw/issue. When searching in the Mustang Garage Advance Search, If you accidently select a Year, Make, Model or Color you canno't unselect it. Anyway to add an "All" option at the top of the list? Ctrl + Clicking and selecting an option and shift selecting work but some users may not know about this. Just a thought.
On another note, this feature is amazing! So many cool uses for it
Certified 4th and 5th Generation National Judge
Current Cars:
2008 Grabber Orange Mustang, 2001 Laser Red Mustang
Past Cars: 1990 Bright Red LX Mustang
MCA #62832
Not many MCA members are aware all what's on the new site so it should be mentioned in next issue of Mustang Times
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