Here's the scenario, you've been tasked with creating a website for your club or organization. There are a ton of options but you need one that is quick and easy to set up, easy to maintain, but isn't so restrictive you can't create something unique. You also need the ability for others to contribute to the website and possibly one day in the future pass the website off to another person in your club or organization.
In this article I'm going to walk you through creating a unique website for your club or organization, show you how to update it in a way that's simple enough for you to assign it to someone else or pass it on to the next person who's to take on the responsiblity. In addition I'll show you how to assign permissions to various users so other people in your club or organization can pitch in.
These should be the goals when creating a website for your club or organization.
1. It should be easy to update with the latest information.
2. It should be easy to make small asthetic changes.
3. There should be the ability to assign permissions to different people and pass ownership.
For the sake of keeping things simple when creating a club or organization website one should keep the design rather simple. Some of the keys to designing a good informational website are to have readable text, plenty of white space, and obvious navigation.
I recommend these things be on the website.
1. The name of the organization.
2. A logo
3. A menu to navigate through the pages.
4. A photo and article that can be easily swapped out on the home page.
5. Something to do with current events and what the site is about.
To keep a consistent look and feel across each page of your website there's a section called the header. Design elements dragged into the header appear in the same location on each page of your website. Similarly at the bottom of each page is a section called the footer. Design elements dragged into the footer will appear at the bottom of each page. The header and footer are a good place to put your logo, organization name, navigation, and links to social profiles.
The body is the main section of content on each page between the header and footer. Things you should consider adding to the body of the page are a headline, so people who skim the page reasonably know what the content is about, photos that hopefullly reflect some of the things you do, and a call to action. A call to action is a link or button that takes someone to another part of your website.
For the sake of conveying information it's hepful to link your call to action to your blog feed. This way you can use the integrated blog app to create posts without having to revisit the design of your website. When you create a blog post the focus is on the writing as opposed to dragging elements about a page making room for new content.
Some of the pages a club or organization website should consider are of course a home page, which every website has and is the place people will land when entering the web address to the site, an about page where you can share some interesting and fun facts about the people and mission of your organization, and a contact page. A contact page with a contact form along with your location can be very helpful.
After you've designed your website and created a few blog posts consider giving other members of your club or organization access to become a contributor. You can assign roles and permissions by clicking the roles and permissions panel in the dashboard view. Enter the email address for the person you'd like to assign permissions, select the permission level you'd like them to have, and they'll receive an email invite allowing them to have their own login credentials.
By following the basic guidelines mentioned in this post you'll be able to quickly and easily create a web design for your club or organization your proud of. And by utilizing the roles and permissions tool you'll be able to share the responsiblity with whomever you wish. To sign up and create a free club or organization website visit WebStarts.com.