1. When you create a web site, whether it is a new site or the recreation of an old site, think about your  investment in your current stationery, brochures and other logo items in print. Changing could be costly until you are ready to replenish your inventory of those items.  The web, by comparison, is relatively easy to change.  If you are moving toward a new image, spend your money on the costly print items first, then change your web image.  Remember that web content is more important than branding.  Create high quality content first.  Then, work on branding.

2. Photos and graphics can be added at any time.  Yes, they can be important to communicating your message and your image.  But, they are somewhat like the jacket of a book.  A better jacket is a good thing, but it does not change the importance of what's inside.

3. It is important not to use the web in a way that tries to copy the depth your other mediums of communication. The purpose of a well designed non profit web site is to:

• Tell people about who you are and what you do, in an adequate but concise manner

So that they will,

• Join as members

• Support your work as volunteers or through donations

• Be continually informed about current projects, activities, and your organization's needs and wants

• Communicate with you at their convenience

• Input data for your research, studies or activism without FAX, phone or snail mail

• Allow you to communicate with them at minimal expense in a way that continually draws them back to you web site, so that they can see current information about what you are doing

• Have information regarding sponsors, partnerships and supporters

• Have links to educational and common interest sites that help create a better understanding of the need for your mission

• Have access to downloads of larger documents that will be helpful to folks interested in trying to do better and support your cause

• Create confidence for prospective partners that your organization is THE place to go if they want to know how to participate in the scope of your work

• Provide information about your local chapters or sub- groups that keep them closely connected to the core of your mission and message. If they don't have their own web page you can make one for them on your page. If they promote this as their own site it will draw oodles of local folks to your page, which is what you want

4. Web content should be dynamic - it should change as often as you have something important to communicate.  If you wish, think of it as a electronic newspaper.  The core of your message, your mission statement, etc. should be a constant so that you create a common understanding of the purpose of your group.  Other information, like newsletters, schedules of events, things of seasonal interest, changes in political events, and so on, should be updated as often as necessary.  You want viewers to come to your page for news and information.  This is what they want, and if you give it to them they will come often.  Rather than mailing or emailing newsletters, publish the newsletter on your web site and send an email providing a link to the newsletter on your web site.  The examples are endless.

5. Don't wait for perfection or a totally finished product before you publish your web site.  The first and most important thing is get a reasonably good page structured ASAP so that we can do your search engine registration, so that people can find you. This is critical and sooner done the better. Some search engines take up to three months to post new URL's (universal resource locators - your domain name).  Also, Google has a new aging delay.  Let's talk on the phone about this.

Make the creation process a group project.  Let everyone participate: board members, officers, staff, volunteers, everybody.  Create excitement and synergy!

6. Well designed forms can reduce administrative time and expenses and telephone expenses to deal with issues such as:

• Information requests, membership requests, etc.

• Updating your database(s)

• Adding and removing names from your email distribution lists

• Making appointments and scheduled contact times

• Gathering ideas

• Enlisting members and volunteers

• Getting donations

• Scheduling speaking engagements

• Coordinating events and planning

The list is endless.  Instead of playing phone tag or wasting time with phone mail, let people communicate with you at their convenience.  You can then respond at your convenience. Email is essentially free and fast, and works well assuming you use it regularly - at least once a day.

Form information can be distributed via email to more than one person, so that a limited staff can delegate certain tasks automatically to designated volunteers.  And, you have back up so if one person is out of the office, someone else will know automatically what needs to be done.  For a good example of how this works, check out the all volunteer group, Friends of South Cumberland State Recreation Area, Inc. at www.friendsofscsra.org.

7. If you have an old page and are changing your domain name, arrangements can be made with the programmer of the old site to put a redirect routine on your old domain name so that visitors to the old web site will automatically be pointed to the new web site. Thus, you will not loose any viewers as a result of the domain name change and previous search engine registrations.

8.  Want a great way to manage email lists?  Read about MailList King.  We can teach how to set it up and have in running in 1-2 hours.

If you have other ideas on how you use the web to the benefit of your organization that you would like to share with others, please send your ideas.  You ideas will be posted to this site, with our without credit as you choose, and if you like, we will add a link to your page. That's what being connected is all about!