There is still this persistent myth that one must be an expert at everything related to the internet to build a website. This quite simply isn’t true. In this post, I’ll discuss some of the reasons why this isn’t true, and how anyone with basic computing capabilities should be able to build and manage a nice website.
What do your want for your website?
First things first, you need to figure out what you want — and need — from your website. Do you just want a few static pages with your hours, admission cost, and a couple other things? Do you need a site with a dynamic calendar, event registration, donation capabilities, donor management, and store? Once you have a list of your needs and wants you can move on to figuring out how you are going to accomplish that.
HTML and Front Page
Back in the old days (in terms of the internet for public consumption, that’s the 1990s), a fair deal of programming knowledge was quite a requirement for building a website. The options then were basically to hand-code the thing from scratch in HTML (that’s HyperText Markup Language), or build a site in one of the pretty terrible WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors then available (Microsoft sort of hacked Word at one point to do this, and then there was – and still is – Microsoft Front Page — there were a few other things as well, but nothing turned out a terribly pretty site). Some of the negative aspects of those rudimentary devices were not of their own making, of course, but were instead due to the fresh nature of the internet.
Now, Microsoft Front Page still exists. You could still build a functional website with it, and some hosts even still support “front page extensions.” I really don’t recommend this route.
You could also still hand-code your site in HTML. If you need a minimal number of pages, and they change infrequently, this might be an okay solution. No matter what solution you pick, familiarizing yourself with the basics of HTML is nevertheless a good idea. I recommend the free online HTML tutorials at W3schools. Luckily, the basics of HMTL that you actually need to know are excessively easy, once you get used to the format. Please be aware that there are very few websites anymore that are just HTML. Most now include CSS (that’s Cascading Style Sheets – which allow a designer to isolate the design from the content) and/or at least some javascript or php. While mastering HTML on a limited time frame is doable, mastering CSS and other scripting languages without a lot of time and effort is not realistic.
Other WYSIWYG Editors
There are other good editors available. The most common may be DreamWeaver. Dreamweaver is a nice program, which allows you to see both the code, and the webpage you’re working on simultaneously, which can really help you learn how the HTML works. The problem with DreamWeaver, however, is that it is really expensive. Additionally, using this type of editor gets increasingly cumbersome as your web site expands. It works wonderfully when you have 5 pages, but when your site grows, it can be a headache.
Many hosts now also offer some form of editor, freely available with their hosting package. I’ve never been really satisfied with one of these, but if you have simple needs, and a small site, you might be well served by this type of option.
At this point, many software needs can be met by open source software, and the same is true of web development. KompoZer is one example. I’ve never tried this particular one, but I’ve heard good things about it.
Content Management Systems (or CMS)
I love content management systems. Really, I do. While a small web site is quite doable with just HTML or a simple editor, I still love a good CMS. There are a lot of good ones, and figuring out which is right for your organization can be tough. For a complete listing, reviews, and the ability to compare features and requirements, see CMS Matrix. You can certainly pay for an “enterprise solution” type of CMS, but I’ve yet to see a convincing reason why your average museum should do that. There are plenty that are open source.
My favorites:
Drupal — You can quite easily integrate CiviCRM (management for events, donors, etc.), a shopping cart, and all sorts of other good stuff. The structure is a little bit confusing at first, but that is easy to overcome with the thorough handbooks available on the Drupal website (in addition to a plethora of tutorials – both written and video). See some thoughts on Drupal’s lack of a built-in WYSIWYG editor.
WordPress – For a long time, I was under the impression that WordPress was really just blog software. I don’t honestly know if that was initially the case, or just what it was primarily used for for years, but that certainly isn’t true. I haven’t experimented enough with it yet, but you could reasonably run an entire website off of it. If you have the minimum expertise to allow you to manage your organization’s website, WordPress might be your best bet. This one is very easy.
There are quite a few museums and other non-profits who use Joomla or Plone. Joomla is rumored to be easier than Drupal, but, quite frankly, I don’t see it. I find the settings in Joomla confusing at best. I’ve never personally used Plone, but it can be used to make some very aesthetically pleasing and functional websites.
With any CMS you are interested in, the main website usually includes some sort of “showcase” area, where you can seen screenshots of, or link to, sites built with that CMS. Some, such as Drupal, also sometimes include write-ups of what went into the website.
In short, you do not have to be an expert to build or improve your organization’s website. If a complete overhaul is beyond what you feel you can do, you could hire someone to transition your site to a CMS, and then teach you how to use it. Editing content in a CMS is as easy as using Word (although without as many quirks).