Every fire department or fire protection district needs a great website. That’s because a strong online presence can do what individual firefighters and support teams can’t – spread awareness and information to large groups of people on an instant, as-needed basis.
But, while a few simple pages with information about a house or station might be a good start, there are a lot of other things that go into creating the perfect fire department website. Let’s look at a few of them…
Contact Information Everywhere
In the age of mobile phones with high-speed web connections, some of the people who search for your fire department online are going to have a rather urgent need to find or contact you. It’s important that accurate and up-to-date phone numbers and addresses appear very prominently on all of your pages.
Links to Other Emergency Services
Because the local fire department is a traditional source of assistance with everything from kitchen fires to stray pets, your site might receive a lot of traffic that actually needs to end up elsewhere. You can do a big service to the community, and reduce the number of incoming phone calls your station has to handle, by including links on your site to other emergency service providers – including fire departments in neighboring communities.
Fire Prevention Tips and Tools
The best fire is the one that never gets started accidentally. What better place to include fire prevention tips and advice than your website? You could even include printable guides and lists that members of your community can download, print, and share with others. You can also offer resources that can be posted around schools and public buildings.
Donation and Support Invitations
At many fire stations, fundraisers and community events are regular occurrences. You can use your fire department website to raise money directly, or to promote upcoming cookouts and breakfasts. You could even post online calendars and invite visitors to register directly through your pages.
Social Media Links
If you have social media accounts linked to your fire department website then you can create links or real-time feeds that show up on your pages. These can be helpful for building awareness and promoting the kinds of events we’ve already mentioned. They can also be used to spread community news in the case of an emergency.
A Touch of Personality
Most people love their local firefighters. They like the trucks, the dogs, and the fact that they have someone who is willing to help out in a dangerous situation. Why not increase your goodwill in the community by posting a few behind-the-scenes photos of your team?
Fire Department Website Design
At Weblinx, we know that fire departments have unique needs when it comes to web design. Contact us today at 630-551-0334 x1 to see some of the work we’ve done for other stations, or to get a free quote for your project.