How big can my website be?
There is no limit to the size of your website. You can create as many pages and upload as many documents, photos, videos, etc. as you need.
How many members does ClubExpress support?
How many administrators and coordinators can I have?
There is no limit. ClubExpress supports seven separate levels of security and you can have as many people as you want at each level.
How many committees, interests, news items, chapters, events, contacts, benefits, discussion forums, etc., etc., can I have?
There are no limits for any of these items! When the database is well designed, the system doesn't care if you have two committees or twenty. So you can have as many interest categories and interest groups, chapters, events, contacts, benefits and discussion forums as you need.
ClubExpress includes all the tools that you need. You start by picking a look and feel and then a layout. After that, you can individually customize the page header, menus, backgrounds, watermark, fonts, text styles and other design elements. Then you use our built-in designers to create the home page and common content boxes that appear in different places based on the chosen layout. ClubExpress gives you the tools to create website content, upload photos, link to audio and video files, create links to other parts of the website, etc. For experienced web designers, ClubExpress supports more advanced concepts, but you don't need to be a web designer to do any of these tasks.
Can members control what personal information is displayed?
Yes, clubs can optionally allow members to control what information is shown to other members or the public.
How easy is it to change the content?
The same built-in tools that are used to create content are also used to modify it. You never need to come to us to make changes in any part of the system.
Can I control what information is shown to members and the public?
ClubExpress websites have multiple areas for different audiences. There is the public side of the site where you promote the club to potential members, the public, etc. Once members login, they are on the members' side of the site where you provide information that's available to members only. Each member also has a personal Profile where they can maintain their own contact information (and which is not available to other members.) There is also a whole admin section of the site that is only available to authorized administrators or coordinators.
How easy is it to change the look and feel of the site?
The overall look and feel of the website, as well as the appearance of individual elements, can be changed at any time.
What if my club or association has a special need that's not provided by ClubExpress?
Call us! We do some kind of customization for about 10% of our clubs and associations. Sometimes it's just a custom member directory with unique search options; sometimes it's a unique module or function for use by your club or association only. Programming fees will apply for custom functionality.
Will ClubExpress work with my browser?
Android version 5.0 – “Lollipop” or newer.
iOS version 5.0 or newer.
Do I need a more powerful computer to use ClubExpress?
No. ClubExpress requires very little from your computer and will work properly even on computers that are 5-6 years old. For PCs, we recommend a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768px, Windows 7 or later and enough hard disk space for normal operations. ClubExpress also works fine on a Macintosh or Linux-based machine.
Is ClubExpress compatible with my Apple Macintosh?
ClubExpress is fully Mac compatible.
Is ClubExpress compatible with my tablet or smartphone?
ClubExpress websites are fully responsive to mobile devices and will reconfigure themselves automatically if we detect a smartphone or tablet. ClubExpress also allows you to create mobile-specific versions of the home page and custom web pages, perhaps with smaller images and less content. Finally, ClubExpress provides an optional mobile app with features specifically for mobile users.
Do I need any special software to use ClubExpress?
Users will get by with just an Internet browser. We recommend that club administrators and coordinators have access to a PDF reader; the latest versions of Windows and Mac OSX have this built in or you can download a PDF reader from multiple sources.
Do I need a high-speed Internet connection to use ClubExpress?
A high-speed connection is not required but a faster connection will certainly make some screens more snappy, especially screens with multiple photographs, but performance should be acceptable even at the minimum speed.
What about members who don't have an Internet connection or email or a computer?
Members without an Internet connection or email will continue to interact with your club or association as they always have, by attending events and receiving a printed newsletter. If they want to connect to the system, they can do so at a friend's house, at work, at any library, or at an Internet cafe. ClubExpress sends welcome letters and renewal notices to members without an email address using regular mail. They send renewal or event registration checks to the regular address and an admin can then record this information in the system.
We already have an Internet domain (www.myclub.org). Can we use it with ClubExpress?
Absolutely! ClubExpress allows you to enter one or more domain names that you own and we will set things up to point them to your ClubExpress website. (You will also need to work with your domain registrar to point your domains to our nameservers.) There is no charge for this and it's a simple configuration change. Full instructions can be found in the ClubExpress administrator manual.
We don't have an Internet domain but we'd like to get one. Can you help?
ClubExpress is not a domain registrar but you can use any registrar. (We use GoDaddy for our own domains.) Note that there is a small fee payable to the domain registrar (generally less than $10 per year) to own a domain.
We don't have an Internet domain and we don't want one. Can we still use ClubExpress?
Yes, you don't need an Internet domain to use ClubExpress. When you set up your account, we ask you to specify a "shortname" for your club or association (for example, mybikeclub.clubexpress.com). This name can be used to access your ClubExpress website at any time. This model also allows you to keep your current website active until the new one is ready.
We'd like to keep our existing website and use ClubExpress for members only. Is this possible?
Yes, some of our customers do this because their existing website is large and well-established and they don't relish moving years of content over to the new site. We can generally mimic the look and feel of the old site so that the transition is as seamless as possible. The main website will have a “Members Click Here” button to jump to the members’ and admin site to login. When members logout, we can redirect them back to the main website automatically.
Can members join through the website?
Your ClubExpress website includes a member signup wizard which allows new members to join online and then pay, securely, via credit card or check. This wizard can be customized in a number of ways to match your club’s needs.
How do members renew their membership?
Do you support family or business memberships?
ClubExpress fully supports memberships with multiple people. Every membership has a single primary member. You can also optionally define one or more secondary members who each have their own login in the system. Secondary members can be on committees, register for events, participate in discussion forums, serve as administrators or coordinators, make payments, etc. You can also optionally define one or more tertiary members who are attached to the primary but who cannot login. But tertiary members will receive blast emails and can be registered for events by any primary or secondary members in the same membership.
How do I expand the database?
Every club or association has unique questions that you want to ask of your members. ClubExpress supports this need using the Additional Member Data feature. You can define as many questions as you need and the answer to each question can be in any one of 25+ different formats. Questions can be limited by member type, can be optional or required, and can optionally be visible to admins only.
How are collected funds remitted to us?
When we collect payments from new and current members using the built-in merchant account, they are processed by the credit card system and deposited in our bank account two business days later. Then, three times a month (on the 10th, 20th and the last day of the month), we make an automated funds transfer (ACH) from our bank account directly to your bank account. This transfer requires another two business days for processing by the Federal banking system. If you have your own merchant account, the funds are deposited directly into your bank account within 2 business days.
How are credit card processing fees charged to us?
If members paid by credit card, we deposit the gross amount and then separately withdraw the credit card fees processing charged by our merchant processor. We do this as two separate transactions for accounting reasons.
How are PayPal transactions handled?
When members and non-members choose to pay using PayPal, a special popup window will appear to allow them to login to their PayPal account and pick the payment source method. These funds are then transferred to your club’s or association’s PayPal account, after which you can decide where to move them. PayPal transaction fees are charged directly to your PayPal account.
How are ClubExpress fees charged to us?
Our monthly hosting fee is charged at the end of each month and based on the number of active members at that time. For organizations in the US, this fee is withdrawn from your bank account using the same ACH facility described above. For clubs and associations outside the US, this fee is charged to a saved credit card. In each case, the fee covers the following month of service.
Can we review the details of each transaction?
Absolutely. Club administrators have access to detailed reports showing every deposit or withdrawal. We designed this module so that each line item on the screen matches a transaction on your bank statement. Users can then click on each transaction to drill into it and view the individual items grouped into that transaction.
How do credit card transactions appear on the member's credit card?
ClubExpress includes a merchant account to process credit card transactions. Members paying by Visa, MasterCard, or Discover will see "CLB*" followed by the name of your club or association abbreviated so it fits within 18 characters. For example "CLB*My Bike Club". Members paying by Amex will see "ClubExpress" and our toll-free number, that they can call if they don't recognize a charge. You also have the option of disabling Amex and Discover since they charge slightly higher fees. You also have the option to configure your own merchant account with any merchant provider, as long as the payment gateway is Authorize.Net, one of the largest and most respected payment gateways in this industry. Note that under some situations, you must have your own merchant account. For more information, see this page on our website. If you want help in setting up your own merchant account, we have established a partnership with our merchant processor to offer merchant accounts to our customers at the same rates as we pay.
We already have a credit card processing account. Can we use it with ClubExpress?
Yes, as long as the payment gateway is Authorize.Net. Many merchant processors can use Authorize.Net, so if you're not currently using them, check with your merchant processor to see what would be involved in switching.
How secure are credit card transactions through ClubExpress?
Like any merchant who accepts credit cards, ClubExpress must follow the rules of the Payment Card Industry (PCI). Because of our size, the rules we must follow are much more stringent than your local dry cleaner. ClubExpress is fully PCI Compliant; credit card transactions are performed, from end-to-end, fully encrypted, so the transaction itself is secure. We only store what data we are allowed to store, and then it's heavily encrypted.
ClubExpress supports the payment of membership signup and renewals, event registrations, donations, and other charges using PayPal. For this feature to be enabled, your club or association must have a PayPal account and it must be configured to allow ClubExpress to initiate charges and have them deposited into this account. On the Pending Payment page, users will select PayPal as their payment option. When they do so, a PayPal button will appear; clicking this button opens a PayPal screen to allow them to login, select any source of funds already configured within their personal PayPal account, and have the funds automatically and immediately transferred to your PayPal account. Once there, you can move them anywhere you want! Users are then transferred back to the ClubExpress receipt page, indicating that the payment was processed successfully.
What is ClubExpress written in?
ClubExpress is written using Microsoft technologies, including ASP.NET, C#, and SQL Server. On the client side, we use HTML5, CSS3, AJAX, and jQuery, among other systems and libraries.
Where do our website and data reside and how is it connected to the Internet?
The ClubExpress servers are located in a highly secure commercial data center. The servers are located behind an industrial-strength firewall that has been locked down as tightly as we can. The firewall is connected to the Internet through multiple independent high-speed channels, to ensure maximum performance and redundancy.
ClubExpress also uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) for selected features, including the storage of documents, photos, and audio/video files.