help me get a small site built!
November 12, 2009 5:57 PM Subscribe
what's the best way to get a web site built for a non-profit?
I'm in the unenviable position of having taken on the webmaster position for a hacked together web-site (php/mySQL) for a small non-profit - mostly because nobody else would or could do it.
The web site desperately needs overhauling and it's impossible for any non-technical users to update it. Most of the content (with the exceptions of event pages/calendar/seasonal info) would not be updated that frequently.
I don't know php and my html skills are decent but basic. I'm in grad school and working full-time, so I don't have time or the inclination to build something by myself.
I'm leaning toward trying to find a pro or semi-pro who we can pay a nominal fee (remember, non-profit) to help us set up something relatively simple that meets our requirements and can be maintained by our non-technical members.
I read this previous thread which had
some good suggestions about possible platforms. I hoped that if I listed the basic requirements, people might point me in the right direction and suggest how to find a web-savvy developer interested in a small job for a non-profit.
It needs the following:
I'm in the unenviable position of having taken on the webmaster position for a hacked together web-site (php/mySQL) for a small non-profit - mostly because nobody else would or could do it.
The web site desperately needs overhauling and it's impossible for any non-technical users to update it. Most of the content (with the exceptions of event pages/calendar/seasonal info) would not be updated that frequently.
I don't know php and my html skills are decent but basic. I'm in grad school and working full-time, so I don't have time or the inclination to build something by myself.
I'm leaning toward trying to find a pro or semi-pro who we can pay a nominal fee (remember, non-profit) to help us set up something relatively simple that meets our requirements and can be maintained by our non-technical members.
I read this previous thread which had
some good suggestions about possible platforms. I hoped that if I listed the basic requirements, people might point me in the right direction and suggest how to find a web-savvy developer interested in a small job for a non-profit.
It needs the following:
- the pages should be easily updatable via some sort of user-interface, including text and pictures.
- ability to add pages and a way to navigate to them.
- an integrated updateable calendar (being able to set reminders for events would be nice) and events page.
- whatever software should not require a lot of patching or be a security nightmare - we have no IT. None. Zip. Nada. (this suggests that WordPress might not be ideal)
- internal members pages and file repository system that can be accessed via a web interface
- easily maintainable mailing lists for the community.
- some customization - our logos, colors, etc.
Many students need to complete a web design project as part of a certificate program. Call a University or college and ask. Also check with the local United Way; they may be able to help you find a volunteer with appropriate skills and experience.
Free help requires tons of supervision, and the result is not guaranteed, at all.
posted by theora55 at 6:33 PM on November 12, 2009
Free help requires tons of supervision, and the result is not guaranteed, at all.
posted by theora55 at 6:33 PM on November 12, 2009
Non-profit does not have to mean "no money." If the organization is serious, they can figure out a way to finance website that reflects that.
If you don't even have any possible IT support, maybe something like Ning, PBWiki or a Facebook page would be better for the long run.
posted by rhizome at 7:01 PM on November 12, 2009
If you don't even have any possible IT support, maybe something like Ning, PBWiki or a Facebook page would be better for the long run.
posted by rhizome at 7:01 PM on November 12, 2009
Grassroots.org lets you post your project and web designers who are looking for pro bono work will respond.
Another site along those lines, but involving money, is 99designs.com
posted by amethysts at 7:07 PM on November 12, 2009
Another site along those lines, but involving money, is 99designs.com
posted by amethysts at 7:07 PM on November 12, 2009
I work for a nonprofit whose website desperately needed updating and we just can't afford to get a new site made professionally. Even though my html skills are basic at best, I put a new site together using the old content using Joomla CMS.
I'm not gonna lie. Joomla caused me more than a few headaches. I watched a lot of tutorials and trawled a lot of forums every time I hit a snag. But I've managed to get a decent site out of it and it barely cost us anything and now I'm totally comfortable doing all the things I need to do. Now that it's set up, it's easy to assign users to a number of access levels. And hosting is pretty cheap too.
Joomla has a huge online community and tons of extensions that can do pretty much anything you want. I added an event calendar extension to our site and there's another one that shows our Twitter feed. Easy to add and use. Feel free to MeFiMail me if you have more questions.
posted by futureisunwritten at 7:09 PM on November 12, 2009
I'm not gonna lie. Joomla caused me more than a few headaches. I watched a lot of tutorials and trawled a lot of forums every time I hit a snag. But I've managed to get a decent site out of it and it barely cost us anything and now I'm totally comfortable doing all the things I need to do. Now that it's set up, it's easy to assign users to a number of access levels. And hosting is pretty cheap too.
Joomla has a huge online community and tons of extensions that can do pretty much anything you want. I added an event calendar extension to our site and there's another one that shows our Twitter feed. Easy to add and use. Feel free to MeFiMail me if you have more questions.
posted by futureisunwritten at 7:09 PM on November 12, 2009
I'm in grad school and working full-time, so I don't have time or the inclination to build something by myself.
Sorry, I missed this part before I posted.
posted by futureisunwritten at 7:20 PM on November 12, 2009
Sorry, I missed this part before I posted.
posted by futureisunwritten at 7:20 PM on November 12, 2009
I've done a metric crapload of sites for npo's, but none for any organization with an annual budget over $750,000.
One of the smaller ones just started using yola.com. Simple, but it's possible to get some pretty stuff out of it. It's pretty simple to redirect your .org directly to it as well, and really the teenagers who go there can update it, it's a simple web interface.
I'm a fan of rentacoder, I'd ask for a joomla based site with a template matching your needs (logo/colors/columns/english) and set the starting bid at like $10. You'll have someone qualified who will bid $5-$50, and joomla is great for addons and editability. Really you could do the same with wordpress, although as my ask from yesterday proves---I suck at wordpress. (Even though it's way easier. Way easier. Way, way easier.)
If you go the joomla route, and really I love joomla---I'd suggest you request a modified base theme, because the base theme incorporates all available module positions by default.
posted by TomMelee at 7:53 PM on November 12, 2009 [1 favorite]
One of the smaller ones just started using yola.com. Simple, but it's possible to get some pretty stuff out of it. It's pretty simple to redirect your .org directly to it as well, and really the teenagers who go there can update it, it's a simple web interface.
I'm a fan of rentacoder, I'd ask for a joomla based site with a template matching your needs (logo/colors/columns/english) and set the starting bid at like $10. You'll have someone qualified who will bid $5-$50, and joomla is great for addons and editability. Really you could do the same with wordpress, although as my ask from yesterday proves---I suck at wordpress. (Even though it's way easier. Way easier. Way, way easier.)
If you go the joomla route, and really I love joomla---I'd suggest you request a modified base theme, because the base theme incorporates all available module positions by default.
posted by TomMelee at 7:53 PM on November 12, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm a big fan of Wordpress. There are an abundance of themes out there, so I think you're likely to find one that suits your needs. I'd recommend going with a theme that looks close to what you need, and paying for support - so you can use the message boards (that most of the bigger theme providers seem to have) if you run into any snags.
You might even try e-mailing the theme company to see if they can offer a non-profit discount.
Upgrading in Wordpress is simply just a click of a button. It's always good to have a backup (and there are plugins for that which make it quite simple), but I've done the automatic update on a number of websites and have yet to run into trouble. I'm not sure what the hosted solution, Wordpress.com costs, but it would eliminate the need for updating things yourself.
Here's a list of some commercial themes:
Wordpress Commercial Themes.
I don't really see you having any trouble using Wordpress for any of the items mentioned. You'd probably end up having to integrate a Google Calendar (again, there are plugins for that) or something, for the Calendar option.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:27 PM on November 12, 2009
You might even try e-mailing the theme company to see if they can offer a non-profit discount.
Upgrading in Wordpress is simply just a click of a button. It's always good to have a backup (and there are plugins for that which make it quite simple), but I've done the automatic update on a number of websites and have yet to run into trouble. I'm not sure what the hosted solution, Wordpress.com costs, but it would eliminate the need for updating things yourself.
Here's a list of some commercial themes:
Wordpress Commercial Themes.
I don't really see you having any trouble using Wordpress for any of the items mentioned. You'd probably end up having to integrate a Google Calendar (again, there are plugins for that) or something, for the Calendar option.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:27 PM on November 12, 2009
Oh, I was going to suggest Squarespace as well.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:29 PM on November 12, 2009
posted by backwards guitar at 8:29 PM on November 12, 2009
As a professional web developer/brand consultant, I have to say, Joomla seriously sucks. If you're going for a common, open-source, CMS for simple sites, Wordpress is probably the way to go (even though I dislike Wordpress for other reasons). There are a few directions you can go.
The first, is get together some funds and pay a good contractor to build a good site. Before working for myself, I worked at a small DC non-profit (I now build websites and social networks for nonprofits), and in this day, your website is your public face, it is where a lot of your constituents are most likely to meet you.
The second, is if you don't want to rebuild the whole site, you can use something like Perch CMS, though I haven't had any experience with it, it is powerfully easy to set up, and you can even use your existing site and just stick in a few php hooks into your static pages and you'll be ready to go.
The third, other people have suggested, you can go to a site like grassroots.org, or 99designs, or anywhere else. But remember, there are good developers and bad developer, make sure you choose a good one. Good developers almost always cost more, but there are bad developers that charge a crapton of money for no good reason (I recently did a site where the previous developer was charging 15k/month for a year without delivering any of the core functionality, also they used table layouts).
The fourth is the hardest, put together a good web proposal to submit to the UX Test Kitchen. These guys are a nonprofit that build websites for other nonprofits for free. They seriously know what they're doing, too. Only problem, they accept about 3 clients a year, and competition is strong, if you can get it, props to you, but don't hold your breath.
If you have any questions feel free to memail me.
posted by thebestsophist at 11:54 PM on November 12, 2009
The first, is get together some funds and pay a good contractor to build a good site. Before working for myself, I worked at a small DC non-profit (I now build websites and social networks for nonprofits), and in this day, your website is your public face, it is where a lot of your constituents are most likely to meet you.
The second, is if you don't want to rebuild the whole site, you can use something like Perch CMS, though I haven't had any experience with it, it is powerfully easy to set up, and you can even use your existing site and just stick in a few php hooks into your static pages and you'll be ready to go.
The third, other people have suggested, you can go to a site like grassroots.org, or 99designs, or anywhere else. But remember, there are good developers and bad developer, make sure you choose a good one. Good developers almost always cost more, but there are bad developers that charge a crapton of money for no good reason (I recently did a site where the previous developer was charging 15k/month for a year without delivering any of the core functionality, also they used table layouts).
The fourth is the hardest, put together a good web proposal to submit to the UX Test Kitchen. These guys are a nonprofit that build websites for other nonprofits for free. They seriously know what they're doing, too. Only problem, they accept about 3 clients a year, and competition is strong, if you can get it, props to you, but don't hold your breath.
If you have any questions feel free to memail me.
posted by thebestsophist at 11:54 PM on November 12, 2009
(I totally didn't mean to come across as trying to sell something, honestly just trying to be helpful.)
For any developer that you're looking at, ask for a portfolio, check out the code they've written. Is it clean? What other skills do they have? Do they seem to also sell themselves as SEO "experts?" How much are they concentrating on all the aspects of a website (design, usability, content and copy writing, findability, etc). Do they use web standards? If a developer seems sketchy to you, follow your hunch and find out more.
posted by thebestsophist at 12:24 AM on November 13, 2009
For any developer that you're looking at, ask for a portfolio, check out the code they've written. Is it clean? What other skills do they have? Do they seem to also sell themselves as SEO "experts?" How much are they concentrating on all the aspects of a website (design, usability, content and copy writing, findability, etc). Do they use web standards? If a developer seems sketchy to you, follow your hunch and find out more.
posted by thebestsophist at 12:24 AM on November 13, 2009
You can write a grant to fund the development of a new website. There are funders out there who will support better communications tools for nonprofits.
Please don't try to hire the cheapest idiot off Craig's list you can find. You'll just end up in the same position you're in now.
posted by miss tea at 3:45 AM on November 13, 2009
Please don't try to hire the cheapest idiot off Craig's list you can find. You'll just end up in the same position you're in now.
posted by miss tea at 3:45 AM on November 13, 2009
The Taproot Foundation does pro bono work for nonprofits, including building web sites.
posted by kirkaracha at 9:52 AM on November 13, 2009
posted by kirkaracha at 9:52 AM on November 13, 2009
I built a website using Joomla for someone who has no technical skills whatsoever. I thought it was very straightforward about how to update the site, but they just couldn't figure it out and thus never posted anything. I moved it to Wordpress instead, and that was easy enough that they could figure it out and are using it now. YMMV.
posted by gemmy at 10:04 AM on November 13, 2009
posted by gemmy at 10:04 AM on November 13, 2009
Response by poster: Guys, thanks for all the suggestions.
The site actually was done with php and mysql - the problem is that there's no documentation, so we're adrift. If I actually had time, I could probably figure out a few things, or heck do the WP thing myself, but I just don't, and I know that if I don't drive this, nothing will ever happen.
posted by canine epigram at 3:41 PM on November 13, 2009
The site actually was done with php and mysql - the problem is that there's no documentation, so we're adrift. If I actually had time, I could probably figure out a few things, or heck do the WP thing myself, but I just don't, and I know that if I don't drive this, nothing will ever happen.
posted by canine epigram at 3:41 PM on November 13, 2009
Seconding Ning. Also check out Confluence, a wiki/blog software product which has a zero-cost license for nonprofits if you want to run it yourself, but since you don't have staff you'd probably go with the hosted version. Also check out MindTouch, another wiki product (this one open source) with a hosted offering. Both of these have WYSIWYG editors.
Honestly I think you should (a) go with a hosted product and (b) hire a student or a consultant to skin it for you. In choosing your hosted product, look around at the skins available and ask around for students or local consultants who have a platform they've skinned before.
posted by tarheelcoxn at 9:23 PM on November 13, 2009
Honestly I think you should (a) go with a hosted product and (b) hire a student or a consultant to skin it for you. In choosing your hosted product, look around at the skins available and ask around for students or local consultants who have a platform they've skinned before.
posted by tarheelcoxn at 9:23 PM on November 13, 2009
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In Los Angeles, I would advertise this job on web405. I don't know about other areas and whether they have similar local-web-interest type lists, but if you happen to want to work with a LA resident, web405 seems to have postings like this quite often.
posted by crinklebat at 6:09 PM on November 12, 2009