Any suggestions for a website maker?

[CadetButterz]

My squadron has yet to create a website; I am up to the task of making one.

Does anyone have any suggestions for website makers we could use?

[KF6YVD]

A very simple site to use can be found here: https://sites.google.com/

[CadetButterz]

Any others? What do you guys use for your squadrons?

[KF6YVD]

We, as well as several other squadrons, use that one.

If you are a little more tech savvy you could go with a hosting company and domain name. That would open up alot more options for you.

[Tim Medeiros]

It really depends on what resources are available and what the needs/requirements are.  SER and FLWG have done some great things using InSite Creation on a windows platform, SWR uses WordPress, AZWG uses Joomla for its public site, many units use Google Sites, others have decided to go homebrew while more have decided to stick with a simple Facebook page.

It all really depends on the needs of the unit and what you want out of it and most definitely what is available to you in terms of resources.

[MajorM]

When our unit site died and no one knew the credentials I ended up having to build a new site from scratch.  I really knew almost nothing about WordPress but was able to learn it on the fly pretty easily.  I used HostGator to host it and they were very helpful in setting it up and making it run.  Though there are other free hosting options out there (but with less help).

[MajorM]

You can see it at http://caplacrosse.org.  I really like WordPress due to the relative ease and the ability of plugins.

[JeffDG]

When our unit site died and no one knew the credentials I ended up having to build a new site from scratch.  I really knew almost nothing about WordPress but was able to learn it on the fly pretty easily.  I used HostGator to host it and they were very helpful in setting it up and making it run.  Though there are other free hosting options out there (but with less help).

That's why you are supposed to submit those credentials, and receive Wing or higher approval, before starting any "Internet Operations"

[JeffDG]

It really depends on what resources are available and what the needs/requirements are.  SER and FLWG have done some great things using InSite Creation on a windows platform, SWR uses WordPress, AZWG uses Joomla for its public site, many units use Google Sites, others have decided to go homebrew while more have decided to stick with a simple Facebook page.

It all really depends on the needs of the unit and what you want out of it and most definitely what is available to you in terms of resources.

TNWG uses Google Apps for both Wing and subordinate unit sites.

[MajorM]

Yeah.. I wasn't the one who didn't ensure multiple redundancy in our logins and such.  I was just the PAO who got handed an issue and fixed it. 

[arajca]

Yeah.. I wasn't the one who didn't ensure multiple redundancy in our logins and such.  I was just the PAO who got handed an issue and fixed it.

I don't think JeffDG's statement was directed at the specific 'you', rather it was aimed at the group 'you'. We've all, or most of us, been in the same situation.

[aviator9417]

Someone who knows HTML & CSS.  Web site generators are crap.

[Pylon]

We built www.OswegoCAP.org on WordPress using a predecessor product of PageLines hosted for free by DreamHost (which has provided free shared hosting to 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations for the last decade or so). 


Our squadron e-mail is hosted for free by Google Apps for Nonprofits.


We've been very happy with both platforms and have been running both very smoothly for years.

[Spaceman3750]

A friend of mine uses Wix.com and so e of what I've seen on their platform is decent.

[Tim Medeiros]

Someone who knows HTML & CSS.  Web site generators are crap.

Please realize that someone with that knowledge is not always available.  Website generators do serve a purpose in that regard.

[Eclipse]

Someone who knows HTML & CSS.  Web site generators are crap.

Please realize that someone with that knowledge is not always available.  Website generators do serve a purpose in that regard.

+1 - CAP units need basic contact sites with a little room for some unit news and links to NHQ.

Capabilities more then easily within the lane of even the most basic templete-based sites.  If you want to be "creative"
do it on your personal site, and don't saddle the unit with custom code no one can support that winds up being
an orphan when you leave or get tired of updating.

The >key< for any website, especially CAP, is content.  You need to decide what will be on there,
how often it's updated, >why< it's updated, and for that matter, >if< it's updated.  And most importantly,
who will update it.

Also, the "keys" need to be onfile with the commander and staff, and they need to have full admin access.
Having a trusted agent at the next echelon doesn't hurt either.

If your ITO doesn't release this to you, move on, he's playing "my sandbox" games with your web presence.

My squadron has yet to create a website; I am up to the task of making one.

Does anyone have any suggestions for website makers we could use?

Have you been asked / directed to do this?  Or is this on your own initiative?

[JeffDG]

Someone who knows HTML & CSS.  Web site generators are crap.

Please realize that someone with that knowledge is not always available.  Website generators do serve a purpose in that regard.

+1 - CAP units need basic contact sites with a little room for some unit news and links to NHQ.

Lemme guess...you think NHQ should provide a template and lock everyone into it as a "standard"...because making everything the same is the only way to achieve excellence (said nobody, ever).

[Eclipse]

Yeah, pretty much.

You can start talking about "excellence" when the organization achieves "baseline".
Also, I think Henry Ford might disagree in regards to standardization.

Probably 1/2-2/3rds of the units don't even have a web presence, or consider Twitbook to fill that void.
Couple that with the myriad orphaned sites, multiple pages that all contend to be "the site", as well as
the archive of the 90s which many CAP sites still are.  Ad banners, pop-ups, malware, all can be found in CAP websites,
not to mention thousands of links to outdated regulations and files with nary a mention of there being something new.

Providing end-to-end web site hosting and email addresses, among other services, would insure CAP
has a consistent external image, controlled by higher HQ, and everyone is on the same page.

That doesn't stop people from being "creative" if they need to, just not attached to the primary external web presence.

[jenidlg]

I prefer WordPress as well.  Joomla has similar features but I found it cumbersome to use and downright awful to update.  If your unit doesn't have the budget for a self-hosted WP domain you could always go with a free site from WordPress.com.  It has many of the same features as a self-hosted site.  The great thing about self hosting is that you can add plugins for calendar, photo slideshows and galleries and much more.   Hosting can be about $80 a year and you can get domains for as little as $3 for the first year and usually around $10-$12 after the first year.  I use GoDaddy but there are plenty of quality hosts out there.   


***REVISED***

If you do register a domain and pay for hosting, follow the advice mentioned earlier about having redundancies for login information.  A unit here in Albuquerque is facing similar problems with a domain they purchased but now can't access because the person who registered it left and didn't leave the info they needed to login and transfer it out of his name. 

[Tim Medeiros]

With regards to redundancies for login information.  If you follow the letter of the reg (CAPR 110-1) this is a non-issue as you would need to supply said information in eServices under the Internet Operations restricted application.

[jenidlg]

Thank you Tim!  Very handy regulation that I had not yet come across.

Jen

[Tim Medeiros]

No problem, glad I could help.

[XxJake114xX]

The website www.weebly.com works well, too.

[raivo]

The website www.weebly.com works well, too.

I support this message.

(The founder is a friend of mine.)