The new Transnet Foundation website launch and activation has gone as per plans with much funfair that included a competition to win an iPad for the 500th registrant for its Transnet Cares Newsletter and the distribution of giveaways at the foyers of the Carlton Centre precinct and the Transnet Freight Rail Inyanda buildings in Parktown. The Foundation, the corporate social investment arm of Transnet (SOC) Ltd, says its online Newsletter registration competition will run from Monday 11th of February to Thursday the 28th of February.

Sibusiso Ngomane, Senior Manager: Communications for the Foundation says: “The website is our new home, a digital platform through which the Foundation and all Transnet (SOC) Ltd’s employees will showcase their tireless work in the communities we serve. “And through our newly launched social media channels, Twitter (follow us @transnet_cares) and the Facebook Fan Page (‘Like” our page at www.facebook.com/transnet_cares ), we look forward to growing our community and engaging with people from all walks of life who want to know what we at the Foundation are doing to help the society we live in.”

The website contains a site-wide search function, categorised file repository, unlimited user groups and users, image and video gallery, a login functionality for access restricted pages and documents, detailed statistics and full and customizable social media integration. It is fully searchable with the content creator/ online editor having the ability to specify in each content article if they would like their article to be indexed by the search engines or not. It also complies with international code best practises – the website is coded in a semantic way to ensure great search engine rankings. It also features a user-friendly interface, scalable and works on all systems, tablets and also on mobiles.

The Foundation says the old website’s appearance, structure and in content presentation was somewhat outdated and there existed a genuine need to revamp its online presence in line with global online information presentation trends. Ngomane says: “The re-engineering of the website, from a content presentation and aesthetics perspective, is intended to better reflect the mission and overall strategy of Transnet (SOC) Ltd and its Foundation through the incorporation of the latest web technology. “The new website boasts a totally integrated pictures gallery with a videos area to illustrate the amazing life-changing stories within our society and offers a window through which the global world will be able to sit and view the tireless work of the Foundation.

“We needed a more developed web presence in order to support the communication of its socio–economic portfolios, philanthropic projects, as well as serve various information needs of diverse stakeholder segments. “The new website’s ultimate goal is to position the Transnet Foundation as a leader in the CSI (Corporate Social Investment) space and provide a credible information repository for the public, media and stakeholders while heightening our search engine rankings/performance. “We were also looking for a digital platform that will provide an e-marketing channel for the Foundation and bring with it some tools to deliver timely, relevant content and answers to the breadth and depth of visitors’ questions,” concluded Ngomane.