Website Hints

[_Q_]

Although there have been some other threads on websites, I figured I'd chime in with my $.02 (after inflation). Here are some random things that jumped out at me after seeing some chapter websites.

1) Reasonable use of things like Flash is OK, but it should be possible to navigate your website and get important information without it. Likewise, Javascript can be OK, but be careful not to annoy the user.
2) Clean and simple is good. When in doubt, a plain white background may be the safest choice.
3) Consistency is also important. It should be clear to the user that they are on the same site. One thing that helps with this is keeping the same basic color scheme.
4) Unless there's a really good reason to use frames, you probably don't want to.
5) Keep information reasonably current. If the officer's page in Fall 2004 is displaying the officers from 2002 or earlier, it looks like nobody cares enough to keep the page up to date.
6) A digital camera might be a good investment for a chapter. If you just want the images for the web, and not to print, you can get by with something fairly inexpensive, maybe in the 3-4 MP range.
7) It's usually a good idea to use editing software with digital images. You can experiment with cropping and adjusting levels and color balance. Adobe Photoshop is the industry standard, but if nobody has this, then The GIMP is very nice for free software.
8) Have the picture display as actual size; it won't look as nice if the browser enlarges or shrinks it. If the image is very big, use editing software to scale it down.
9) Think before you design about what information you want to put on your site, and make sure that it's there and that users can readily find it. It's a good idea to get a number of other people to test it before it goes live, since they'll have different assumptions than the webmaster.
10) Usually, Javascript and Flash password protection is not an effective way to secure information. So if this is what you're using, you probably don't want any sensitive information in your members-only section.