May, 2003
Some brief advice based upon my experience with volunteer-supported
websites.
HOSTING: You don't need much space at all, but avoid the free
hosts because it is worthwhile paying for space so the servers
run quickly and there are no intrusive ads. Better still is knowing
someone who owns some server services and will donate some space.
I buy server space from http://admo.net/main/
and they have some deals starting at $6.50/month If you want an
orignal URL root address, it costs another $15/year, and you'll
have to deal with another vendor for that registration service.
CONTENT: The biggest problem with volunteer-supported sites is
maintenance. Website content gets stale and out of date and volunteer
interest wanes. My strong recommendation is to resist any impulses
or suggestions to use the web site as a place to publish 'news'.
Instead, think of the website as a reference source, a resource
your users will come to think of as a place to look things up.
for example:
good:
- leadership names and contact information
- addresses
- minutes of proceedings
- photos (but don't say "last month's picnic pictures")
- maps and directions
- mission statements
- sermons
bad:
- announcements
- event promotion
- meeting agendas
- calendars of events (unless you REALLY are committed to keeping
it up)
- sign up or registration information for events ( ditto )
I can't stress this enough, because it comes up ALL
the time: "lets get the word out about event X; I know! lets put it on
our website!" problem is, virtually no one who doesn't already
know about the event will ever see it on the website. And then
it becomes a content management chore that gets forgotten or overlooked.
And it looks terrible when its still there 12 months or even 2
months after the fact.
OTHER USES If you have ftp-savvy leadership, you can use the
web space to totally eliminate the use of email file attachments
in your organization's communications. For example, set aside a
directory on your site just for documents...could be private (unpublished,
unlinked) or not. Then, when its time to circulate e-documents,
you can email the URL instead of the attachment. For example:
"Dear Board: please review last month's minutes before
coming to the meeting next monday. The minutes are available
at http://www.occpta.org/docs/03-01-27_minutes.doc
Some volunteer-supported sites I'm responsible for:
