Building your own website (continued)

There are places on the Internet where you can publish sites even if you have little technical expertise.You sign up on the website, choose a template and start adding your words and pictures. Some are free, others charge. Here are some free ones:

• www.pages.google.com – part of Google
• www.officelive.co.uk – part of Microsoft
• www.communigate.co.uk – owned by Newsquest local newspapers
• www.geocities.com – part ofYahoo!

There are also people who will offer to host or build websites free of charge, such as www.usablewebsites.org and www.freecharity.org.uk.These are run by charitably minded individuals who will build you a site which you can then manage.

Ask in your local area for any other sources of free help, such as local web design companies or web design students.

Blog it

One popular way of getting a website is to set up a blog – short for weblog. Designed to be updated regularly, like a diary or journal, you can add links, share content and allow visitors to add their own comments and links. Blogs are commonly used by individuals but can be a good way for organisations to build a website and become an active part of online networks.

A great example a site built around a blog is the award-winning Merseyside Funding Information Portal run by Sefton CVS – take a look at www.mfip.org.uk

There are many sites that will enable you to set up a blog for free, such as:

• www.blogger.com – owned by Google
• www.wordpress.com – also available as a standalone package

Stick to what you know

If your fundraising skills are better than your web design,why not make a compelling funding application instead of building your own site – and get what you really want by paying for it. Find a volunteer to create a simple site, so you have a much better idea of your needs, and ask for funds to incorporate features

Keeping your website running

Whoever builds your website it is important to see it as an ongoing commitment. Make sure you’re realistic about who will keep the site up to date and how much extra work this will create.

Are you clear about the arrangements for hosting or domain name renewal? Did you make sure your volunteer set up a site that you can support once they’ve gone?These may be technical issues but you must make sure there is someone in your organisation who understands their importance and what to do about them.

Websites are not static and should form part of your ongoing communications budget. If you bid for funding for a website, think about including funding for the second or third year of its life. By this time you may well have a better idea of what actually works for you and want to either tweak a few things or pay for a complete overhaul.

DIY seach engine optimisation

Making it to the top of the list of results produced by a search engine, such as Google orYahoo, is not a straightforward process but there are some basic points that will help:

• A simple site that clearly explains its purpose and delivers what is required by its audience is more valuable than fancy tricks to fool search engines.
• Make sure each page clearly introduces what it contains and repeat appropriate key words in ways that are relevant.These are the main food for a search engine, providing the strongest hint as to the content of the site.
• Think what key words people will use to find you and use them prominently on your home page.Will people use jargon when they think of your services? If so, make sure you use that jargon as well, even if you explain it for people who don’t know what it means.
• The design of your site will be an important ingredient. Keeping the content as simple and clear as possible means there is less ‘clutter’ for search engines to extract key information from.
• Links into your site are also a key source of ranking. Compile a list of websites you would like to link to your website, contact them and ask if they will do it, perhaps on a reciprocal basis.
• Test your site using your key words by plugging them into Google. Look at the sites above yours and try to see why they’re scoring more highly.
• Update and adjust your site regularly, according to how well it is ranking in Google for the terms that are important to you.