CharityVillage® Research: Setting up a starter web site

Posted on Charity Village December 2000

A starter web site is suitable for organizations that want to move cautiously onto the Internet and create a low-key presence on the Web, but don't have the resources. Many small agencies and businesses seem to become paralyzed with anxiety and indecision when it comes to building a web site, so a low risk starter site can be a good introduction to the Internet.

Web consultants sometimes refer to simple sites as 'business card sites' or 'brochure sites'. Both are appropriate for many agencies. A business card site might consist of one page that describes the agency's activities, target group and contact information. A brochure site might post key documents that the agency already distributes in paper form, such as programs and services, mission statements, volunteer opportunities and so on. Either type of site will help community members to find information about the agency. It is similar to being listed in the telephone book — it's a great way to have your information available to people who need it, any time of day.

Web sites are now so inexpensive and easy to set up that any organization can afford it. Here are some ways that you can create a very simple and cheap site, as well as some of the things you should keep in mind during the process.

1. Register your own domain name

Make sure that you own your own domain name. The address of your web site should be stable, and should be listed on your letterhead and business cards so that people always know where to find you. You will often change web hosts because businesses, prices and quality on the Internet are so unreliable. If you own your domain name, you can keep switching web site providers as often as you like, just forwarding your domain to the new host. That means that when you are ready to move up from your modest free starter site, you don't have to change the web site address on all your stationery and contacts.

Registering a domain name is easier and cheaper than it has ever been, with registrars competing for business and .ca domain names finally available to all Canadian residents and organizations (as of December 1!). Canadian nonprofits should generally use a domain name ending with .org, .net or .ca rather than .com, which refers to a commercial business.

We recommend that if you're trying to go cheap, buy a domain name from a company that allows you to forward the domain to another web site. For example, easyDNS will allow you to buy “www.youragency.ca” and then forward that domain to a free site such as “www.geocities.com/youragency”. You can also get up to 100 email addresses that can be forwarded to free email services such as Coolmail, Yahoo mail or Hotmail, enabling all of your staff to get email addresses without the hassle of managing the email service yourself. The total cost of registering a domain name (.ca, .com, .net or .org), forwarding the domain to any other web site, and having up to 100 email addresses is $75/year U.S. (Note: do not use stealth redirection. Just take my word for it, or email me for more detail.)

There are other registrars that charge less than easyDNS for domain name registration — they go as low as $15/yr CDN as opposed to easyDNS's $39/yr CDN — but usually as part of a web hosting package. For a list of the cheapest Canadian registrars see www.cadomain.com/

2. Get cheap or free web hosting

Once you have bought your domain name, you need to find a web host, meaning a company that will post your site on the web. You can use the free web space that you get from your Internet access company (most of them give you about 10 megabytes, which should be enough for a starter site). Or you can use a free web site service.

Two of the best free web sites are Sprint.ca and Yahoo/Geocities. Both of them offer simple web site editors to allow you to build your site using only a web browser. My recommendation for a totally free site would be Sprint.ca because the logo at the bottom of the page is small and unobtrusive. As you can see, the Sprint version has a nicer ad. I created this second site a couple of years ago and have since forgotten my username, password and the email address I used to create it. Take warning — I can't edit it any more, and I can't even delete it. For goodness sake, if you create a web site, store the username and password somewhere safe and don't let them vanish with your helpful webmaster volunteer.

If you are willing to pay some money for web hosting, consider Yahoo Geocities Plus, which gives you 25 megabytes of space, no ads and a simple web site editor for $5/month U.S. And when you're ready to move out of starter mode, consider one of the professional web hosts we recommend on the goodenough.ca site — they cost about $20/month CDN plus domain registration, and include email accounts.

3. Build a simple web site

Now that you have your domain name and a web host, you need to build your starter web site. Strive for simplicity. You are trying to communicate information to your community, not impress them with your graphic design skills.

Iin fact, try to restrain yourself when it comes to graphics. Use text whenever possible because it is faster to download, is more accessible to people with disabilities, and is easier to read. Many usability experts say that graphics should NEVER be used if text could give the meaning just as well. We try to build sites that have only one graphic — the organization's logo. Examples of text sites are www.alertbox.com (by Jakob Neilsen, the Web's most famous usability engineer), www.gkerr.com and www.goodenough.ca.

Do not allow anyone to design an amateur web site for you that looks unprofessional and silly (Hint: if your web site has more than one animated image, this probably applies to you). It's okay to look boring if you are clear, informative and easy to read. If you're not getting a good sponsorship premium from your banner ads, drop them from the web site. They're distracting and irritating.

4. Register in search engines and get linked to relevant sites

There's not much point in having a web site if no one can find you. Get yourself listed on the search engines. To do that, you must create Meta tags and insert them into the code. For help, see Search Engine Watch or try NetMechanic, which will advise you on your Meta tags and then submit to 12 search engines for free.

Try to get listed on popular web directories for your sector or city. In Toronto, for example, human service agencies should be on the Toronto.com community section. for organizations across the country, make sure that you're linked from the Nonprofit Neighbourhood at CharityVillage.

Also, when you are interviewed by media, be sure to give your web site address, and print it on your stationery, handouts and business cards. Even if you don't use your web site much now, you are building a powerful communication tool for the future.

5. Update content

Generally, starter sites are not updated more often than every 6 months. That's okay, if you don't post material that will become obsolete sooner. Don't publish weekly events if you're not going to update regularly, because it just annoys people.

As you add more information to your site, make sure that a staff person is assigned to write and revise web site content. That means that he or she has the training and time to update. Content revisions don't happen by themselves, and the time required for updates is the single most underestimated element of planning a web site.

6. Think about the ways in which your web site can become more effective

At some point, you will probably want to do more with your web site than post an agency brochure on the Internet. Here are some of the uses you might put it to:

* Post articles and news about your community
* Have a private intranet where your staff

and volunteers can collaborate on workgroups
* Raise funds by selling products and services or by requesting donations
* Carry on advocacy campaigns on policy issues
* Distribute email newsletters
* Sponsor public discussion groups

For these uses, you might want to bring in a professional consultant to help you figure out exactly what to do, and how to do it cost effectively. But a starter site will make you more comfortable with the whole idea of the web, and will begin to prepare your agency for more ambitious uses.

[Published in Charity Village November 2000]

This is a really tough question, because whatever you decide will be
wrong. Computers, by their nature, are difficult to manage, break down
constantly, and require large amounts of technical support and
training. We hesitate to make any specific recommendations because
things change so quickly, but here are some general suggestions:

Figure out what you will use your computers for. You probably want to do
word processing, email, scheduling, web browsing and look at the occasional
spreadsheet. Install a basic office productivity suite that's compatible with
Microsoft Office, and if you're not eligible for Microsoft's
charity licensing, consider free software. See our web
site for specific suggestions. Generally, you won't need a state-of-the-art
computer. However, if you spend a lot of time on a computer you should buy
a decent monitor because it will make you more productive and help prevent
eyestrain. After you've used a 17″ monitor for a while, you will find it hard
to go back to a 15″.

Our overall recommendation for small, low income agencies is to get
cheap computers, and link them to each other and the Internet using the
fastest connection you can afford. Here are the best choices for the
average nonprofit:

1. Buy a mid-level Windows PC from a reliable low-cost provider that has good customer service and technical support.

   Mid-level refers to computers that are neither obsolete nor cutting
   edge. At any given time, there is usually a `value point', where
   there's a big price jump between the decent computers and the really
   expensive ones. That value point changes almost monthly as components
   get cheaper. Don't buy the cutting edge unless you're doing something
   really unusual, like video editing.

   For example, Dell gets consistently
   good reviews on technical support. Its prices are high in comparison with
   the local electronics supply shop, but Dell's three-year onsite warranty
   service is great, and they guarantee that all the components in the computer
   work well together. The warranty service and phone support are worth a
   lot when you don't know how to do your own computer repairs. Other well-reviewed
   systems are Gateway, MicronPC
   and Compaq. Good Enough Information
   Systems is in discussions with computer distributors to see if they can
   provide special discounts to Canadian nonprofits.

   For specific computers and suppliers, check out the reviews at www.zdnet.com and www.cnet.com. They are U.S. reviews, but most of the computers are available in Canada.

2. Buy a second hand computer from reBOOT

   If you are a registered charity, consider buying a second hand computer from reBOOT Canada.
   They charge $1 per Mhz for a complete system, including a keyboard
   mouse and colour monitor. In other words, for $233 plus taxes you would
   be able to get a fully equipped 233 Mhz computer. Additional components
   are available depending on the needs of your organization. They ship
   all over Canada, and provide a warranty. This will not be a cutting
   edge solution, but for most of your daily office tasks these computers
   should be sufficient. In fact, most of reBOOT's clients are looking for
   systems that will get them started with word processing, accounting and
   using the Internet.

   We also suggest that if you are offered second hand computers from a
   business, consider directing them towards reBOOT, who will provide a
   tax receipt to the donor for the value of the equipment, unless you can
   assess and repair them yourselves. reBOOT will strip them and rebuild
   them using components from various computers if necessary.

The reason we recommend PCs is that the vast majority of organizations
use PCs and it just makes communication simpler if everyone's on the
same platform. If you do insist on using Macs or Linux-based computers,
please ensure that you can handle the file incompatibilities that will
crop up. In the next couple of years, expect `Internet appliances' to
replace computers for simple functions. Internet appliances are
pared-down computers that will allow you to use the Web and email. And
in the next couple of years, when you can get almost all the software
you need through a web browser, it won't matter whether you get Windows
PCs, Linux, Mac or an Internet appliance.