Calling all you techies out there. I am thinking about starting up a basic website for the american legion riders that I am the secretary of. Basically it doesnt have to be anything special, just a place to have a list of events, host some pictures of the rides, little stuff like that. Basically just a yahoo groups but as an actual website. Also not looking to spend a whole lot since the more we spend on it, the less we have to give back to our vets which is our #1 goal. I really need something that is very basic and easy to set up, run, etc. I can fill in the blanks/boxes, but I have no experience in writing any codes or anything… lol.
Any info is appreciated.
Thanks
You need to decide the content. That’s the most important and determines how much you will pay. You won’t want someone like me doing it because it will cost you. You will want a younger guy that is a freelance (off-hours, etc.) that can do it for you. You might want to search for a template to match your content. After that, even the most basic person can fit the content within it assuming it is static.
If you just have pictures/information, then collect all of that and then determine how it fits into a website; ie blocks of information (ie navigation strip or something of that nature for a traditional website). You should be able to type/draw it out to get a basic flow of how things look.
Only then can someone give you an idea of what it will take to do, cost, etc.
Everything about it will be very basic. Very simple with a side bar with a few different pages (about us, contact, etc) Also would like a section to add upcoming events, a photo section that any member can upload pictures of different events, and a small discussion section. I am looking for something as cheap as possible so I am very open to different options. I tried one of the online hosting sites and got something set up but it would not allow any picture uploads or discussion section so its not going to work. Basically we have a yahoo groups right now that works great, but we would like to have something similar that we can use for P.R. to get our information onto the web.
upcoming events and small discussion section isn’t static.
Upcoming Events will require an admin section for you to maintain. Validation for you to “log” into so that you can maintain the data
Discussion section might require some admin section for you to maintain the data as well as someone always puts shit in there that you don’t want. Also, this requires you to get some sort of database connectivity to save this data
Yea, hosting and domain is necessary unless you find some hosting center that will give it to you for free but it’s never free. Advertising always is part of it.
I’d really look for some online template but not sure how you’d handle the non-static area.
In regards to the photo section, I can provide you with some sort of image viewer or something that “plays” various photos by slowly sliding through them or allows the user to click forward/backwards. I just need to find time. But, I do have some ASP .NET / ASP .NET code laying around. I can make it whatever version you want.
yea this is all new shit to me… lol. I understand about how I will have to log in to maintain the site and all of that, but I was hoping to have the photo section as a place where the members (which would have to be controlled by me to not allow non-group members from posting) can add various photos from various rides. And same goes for the discussion section (specific list of members that have access to post). I’m really brain-dead when it comes to all this shit so I’m mainly looking for info at the moment. Plus once I get an idea of pricing, I have to bring it up at the next meeting to get it accepted financially.
It sounds like you also need to maintain user data so that certain people can upload photos and/or post. This will require, again, a database or some datastore to hold this data. It will also require you to maintain this data somehow. Do you have an admin page where you just enter the data? Or do you have a page where all of the users fill out a form and wait for registration to be accepted (ie think of this website and how it works). If you go that route, you will want a nice login page for them. But that’s probably not much more work than what we previous discussed because you would need to log in somehow.
The more you talk about it, the more you flesh our requirements.
The key is to get any idea of all the functionality you need like you are doing. Start to think of all the “sections” or “pages” necessary. Start to figure out what data is static vs non-static. Start to think about where the non-static data is stored.
I think you’ve got it square on the head. The more I think about it, the more it will be similar to this forum. Somewhere for members to login (registration must be approved my admin to prevent non-group members from joining).
Here is a great example of what I would like to do… http://www.indianalegionriders.org/
that setup is almost exactly what I would like to have. Possibly not quite as many pages but it gives a decent idea.
Discussion area would be different though. More of a members only discussion, and even a single page would be fine.
I agree the site is quite disorganized, but that is the layout I’m looking for.
its not so much of a one time fee I’m worried about. its more of the monthly costs. When I was looking, all I could find at the time (only looked real quick) was almost $20/month which I doubt they will go for.
But, I do have some ASP .NET / ASP .NET code laying around. I can make it whatever version you want.