Looking for an Externally Hosted Image Slideshow for the Web

November 30, 2012 9:27 AM

I need an image slideshow script for a website. Unfortunately, I'm extremely constrained by our dinosaur CMS.

I manage a public library website that runs on a simple proprietary CMS. It turns most inline Javascript into spaghetti and doesn't allow us to upload JS files to our hosting space.

I'd like an image slideshow on our home page to advertise upcoming events and new services. A JQuery carousel would be perfect - I'm not interested in Flash for accessibility reasons and our patrons' browsers are not ready for a CSS3/HTML5-only solution.

The slideshow offered by cincopa.com is perfect - the script is externally hosted and works beautifully on our site. However, our bandwidth needs are too high for the free version, and I'm reluctant to spend money on the pro version unless I know it's our only option, since we won't need the service for long - we'll be transitioning to Wordpress or Drupal next year.

So, are there any free externally hosted JQuery slideshow scripts out there, or does anyone have an alternate suggestion as to how I can accomplish this? I'm a librarian, not a programmer, so forgive me if I've overlooked something obvious.

posted by toastedcheese to technology (9 answers total)

There is literally no way for you to FTP a text file onto the server and then access it from the web?
posted by jsturgill at 10:06 AM on November 30, 2012

Nope. We don't have FTP access.
posted by toastedcheese at 10:11 AM on November 30, 2012

Could you elaborate on the hosting you do have? Is the site run on a computer in a closet in the library or something, or do you pay someone for it? Is it a state thing that you are forced to utilize but have no control over?
posted by jsturgill at 10:15 AM on November 30, 2012

It's a third-party library vendor and our site is hosted on the vendor's server.
posted by toastedcheese at 10:18 AM on November 30, 2012

Embedded Flickr slideshow?
posted by davebush at 10:22 AM on November 30, 2012

Have you tried putting in a support ticket with the vendor and requesting FTP access? Alternately, putting in a support ticket and verifying whether they will put the files in place for you if you provide them?
posted by jsturgill at 10:25 AM on November 30, 2012

Jsturgill, it's at least possible that we could get the vendor to install the script for us. Thanks for the suggestion.
posted by toastedcheese at 10:33 AM on November 30, 2012

That would probably be the best approach. If your relevant higher-ups are OK with it, and the vendor won't help you, there are quite a few ways to get free hosting for the files.

One workaround would be to create a free dropbox account for the library and use it to host the javascript and/or images for the slideshow.

You would still have to include a reference to the javascript stuff on the page, but hopefully that's possible (or the vendor will help you make it happen).

Using something like dropbox for this looks a unprofessional compared to actually having it on your site, so I would push for having the vendor accomodate your needs first and fall back to something like this as a last resort.

If the vendor isn't already getting the boot with the upcoming transfer to a better CMS, please let whomever is relevant know about your problem so that they can push for better terms/service when renegotiating the contract.
posted by jsturgill at 12:44 PM on November 30, 2012

I will look into Dropbox as a hosting solution. Thanks again!
posted by toastedcheese at 6:38 AM on December 3, 2012