Web site redesign help

topic posted Sat, January 13, 2007 - 11:23 AM by  offlineSky
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First off, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are already proud of beginning to fulfill your New Years Resolutions.
This was posted a while back and now that we're through the holidayz and on to a new calendar, I want to begin getting things in gear for the next gathering. As we're beginning to see questions about when the next gathering will be and some have been referring to the web site, I want to get it more up to date and give it a better look. My brother in law helped me set it up and Vatra did a great job writing up the info. Now we need to find someone to help us get a better look and work with the functionality of the site.
I don't think it will take a great deal of work, so if anyone has web building experience, please get in touch and we'll discuss ideas.
Excited to spend this coming Cinco de Mayo with all yall !!!!!!!!!!!!
posted by:
Sky
online Sky
California
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  • Re: Web site redesign help

    Mon, January 29, 2007 - 3:53 PM
    Me too.
    • Re: Web site redesign help

      Mon, January 29, 2007 - 6:43 PM
      Ditto.
      • Re: Web site redesign help

        Tue, January 30, 2007 - 11:13 AM
        Thanx for the offers. I also got another offer from Anke as well so it seems we have some experienced help. Maybe we should first ask the question of everyone, "What would you guyz like the site to look like and how should it be laid out?

        I added some sections for 'photos', 'videos' and even a 'friends' link where we can help our people out with a bit of advertising, as I've already done for Sean and Prisna with FlowToys.

        I know we need to post better directions, (sorry for not being more on top of that at the last gathering)
        I'd also like to have the map include the nearest towns and stores as well as the local medical facilities.

        Rachel did an awesome job with the safety section I thought but if there are other ideas, I'm sure she'd appreciate input there as well.
        So lets hear some ideas for the look and what to include in the various section.
        • Re: Web site redesign help

          Tue, January 30, 2007 - 7:05 PM
          Phot gallery and Video gallery are good ideas. Maybe take a page from flickr and include info about the photo like locations and stuff. Maybe a wiki style event calander so people can co-ordinate their workshops/events online a little. I had no idea what was going to happen until I got there.

          Nearby supplies and stores would be helpful to newcomers that are not familiar with the local shops. Being close to Big Basin, many of the local shops carry good supplies for campers, so you don't have to tote down as many supplies if you plan to hit Boulder Creek. Also a 'What to bring' suggestion guide might be helpful.
  • Re: Web site redesign help

    Tue, January 30, 2007 - 12:09 PM
    If we can install some sort of content management system, or even something as simple as a modified blog or wiki, that would be ideal. I don't know what kind of hosting you have it connected to, and whether that's a possibility, but if you can put in a system like that, you'll have the flexibility to allow a bunch of people to work on it.

    A content management program would allow you to:
    * separate the site design from the content. So you could change the look of the site without having to change all the pages manually
    * collaborate and involve multiple contributors working on the site.
    * add modules like photos, forums, etc.

    Unfortunately most systems require a lot of work to install, but once it's set up it should be easy.

    Does anyone have experience with a particular system that they like? Sky, what kind of hosting service do you have for the site?

    Roger
    • Re: Web site redesign help

      Tue, January 30, 2007 - 12:30 PM
      Ask Andreas or even Meg (mcp) about Content Management systems both of their wesites were (I think) designed using them. It would make your life easier because you would not need to constantly modify the site itself, others with certain access could instead.

      www.analogia.org (andreas, I need to call him about conclave anyways)

      mcp.tepookatoys.com/ (Meg's site)

      www.sphereculism.net

      www.domorepoi.com (I can ask coley personally)
      • Re: Web site redesign help

        Tue, January 30, 2007 - 6:30 PM
        You can cheat and look at the bottom of the site - they usually tell you. Both Andres and Meg used Mambo. I don't know what the difference really is, but Joomla! is what happened when a bunch of the main Mambo developers left to do their own thing.

        I can't get through to Spherc right now, but I believe Matt used one of the early ones like PHP Nuke. I cheated for my wedding web site and used WordPress, which is usually a blog program, but it was suuper easy to manage and has lots of pretty themes to choose from.

        There's a pretty long list of content management systems here:

        en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comp...nt_systems
    • Re: Web site redesign help

      Tue, January 30, 2007 - 7:10 PM
      Depends on the server, what scripting does it support? PHP? ASP? Is there a database availible? I think the wiki-model works really well for basic information or static info that doesn't chaange too drastically. The blogging method works good for frequently changing events or listings.
      • Re: Web site redesign help

        Wed, January 31, 2007 - 9:48 AM
        The site is thru Start Logic and here's the links they sent me to help set it up.
        startlogichelp.com

        As I said, I really have no idea about PHP, ASP or anything about web site management so this is all the info I have to offer.

        If this kind of site isn't easy to work with or doesn't offer what we need, I'll open up a new account with another host. It would be nice to have a site that will be more interactive and accessible to everyone. Maybe even a site that have a message board so that people who aren't on Tribe can communicate more easily.
        I'm open for suggestions. You guyz let me know and I'll do my best to make it happen.
        • Unsu...
           

          Re: Web site redesign help

          Wed, January 31, 2007 - 11:07 AM
          hi sky,

          i think using mambo as cms for firedrums.org is a great idea, especially
          if you want it to be more interactive, with updated photo sections,
          a forum etc.

          i set up mambo for our intranet, it was a bit tricky, but after it was installed,
          i found it very great, especially because you can add modules as you need
          them.

          i checked the website from your hosting company, and they only offer
          PHP and my SQL (what you need for mambo) with the $ 29.99 subscription,
          which seems way to expensive.

          hosting shouldn't be more then $10 to begin with. if it comes down to
          mambo, here some hosting companies recommended by the MAMBO
          developers:

          www.mamboserver.com/index.php

          SKY:
          since YOU are the father of this, and you certainly will be the main administrator
          of the site, you should check out mambo yourself, and see if you like it
          and if this all makes sense.
          you said you are not familiar with web development, and it might be
          good to understand what we are talking about.

          the developers of mambo offer an ONLINE DEMO to test it.
          if you want to play around a bit, go here:

          www.mamboserver.com/index.php

          the FRONTEND is how the USER see the homepage.

          the BACKEND is the administration area where you can
          configure the layout, the menu, modules (as calendar, forum etc),
          add menu entries, categories etc. pp.

          the advantage of using mambo would be that you could
          modify the website yourself (after a a little mambo training ;-)
        • Re: Web site redesign help

          Wed, January 31, 2007 - 12:56 PM
          It looks pretty clear that the server your presnelty using support MySQL and PHP, and is a FreeBSD Enviroment. I don't see any reason to change servers unless you feel you can get more bandwidth/features for the same or better price. What I am saying is that content management can be implemented pretty easily using this server as there are tons of MySQL/PHP scripts that can be installed and modified to fit the website's desired look/feel/functions.
          • Unsu...
             

            Re: Web site redesign help

            Wed, January 31, 2007 - 2:41 PM
            @Bunny:

            as far as i can see they only offer PHP and mySQL with the 29 dollar/month
            subscription. am i blind???
            • Re: Web site redesign help

              Wed, January 31, 2007 - 8:42 PM
              I was going to recommend Laughing Squid because they host for a bunch of Bay Area art groups (and would be cheaper than the current provider's equivalent plans), but I'm not sure they meet all the requirements and the places on the Mambo list are a LOT cheaper.

              BTW... What's the deal with all the Mambo/Joomla drama? (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joomla) My impression is that all the Mambo developers moved over to Joomla. I guess I don't care as long as it's well supported and the right tools are there.
              • Re: Web site redesign help

                Thu, February 1, 2007 - 9:22 AM
                Mambo, Joomla, Laughing Squid,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
                Welllllllllllllllll, I did ask didn't I. Now I guess we need to make a decision. I say 'we' cause I'm gonna rely on 'somebody' to work on it. But I don't want to impose on anyone to take on too big a task. I'll do the research but what I need to know is what questions to ask or research to make the decision to stay with Start Logic as is, upgrade or change to another host. As for price, $15 /month is doable but obviously I'd prefer a one time yearly less $$$ if there's something that offers what we need. How do we find out if the current site offers what we need or do you need more info from me to determine that.

                Much thanx to everyone for your response. I'm hesitant sometimes to start an open discussion with an internet based dialogue as sometimes it can get a bit 'lively' when several people express varying views without the benefit of tonal inflections. But I also know that there are a number of options and various people have different experiences so it's very helpful to hear and gain as much info as possible. So thanx to everyone for the info so far, and who knows, maybe we can all learn a bit more from exchanging ideas and experiences. That's what the gathering is about anyway.

                Another inexperienced question, Is there a way to set up the site where different people can work on it and thereby split the work time involved. My biggest concern is that I don't want to ask too much of any one person.

                Thanx again everyone,
                peace and light
                Sky
                • Re: Web site redesign help

                  Wed, February 7, 2007 - 5:07 PM
                  Our good friend MattPaul (he was at FD a couple of years ago, dunno if he's been to the last couple) has also offered to help with setting it up... he has experience with Joomla and suggested checking out westhost.com/ as a hosting provider. I'll check it out if I get a chance later this week.

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