You Are Here:
- provide the public with up-to-date information about your activities, goals and ways people can take action or assist your work
- provide a virtual meeting room.
- act as a bulletin board for announcements, results and events.
- display latest news and campaign developments
- store campaign documents
Before building your website, think about what you want to say to the community and the image your group will present.
Site considerations
To communicate effectively your website will need a consistent navigation system. Because the web is image based, you need to use continuity to avoid confusion while visitors are navigating through your site. Make sure headings and links appear in a uniform colour and font.
Your navigation system will need:
- A link back to the home page from every other page.
- A site map (a thorough and up-to-date index of everything on the site).
- A search function (you can download these for free off the web).
- Return options so that a user can return to the last page they were on.
- A global navigation bar (that pops up on every screen).
- Simple headings and images.
Content considerations
The most important content consideration is to keep it short and keep it current. There's nothing worse than visiting out-of-date websites. When you complete a call to action, always include a "wrap" of the event on the site.- Defining your audience will allow you to write content targeted at them. Your website should be concise and easy to read; aim for a reading age of about 12 years (the standard for most newspapers). Make sure you include:
- Campaign information
- Your mission statement
- Your group logo
- Contact postal address and phone number
- A donations section
- Online petitions and other calls to action (check out Greenpeace and other activist websites for ideas).
Design tips
- Readability is paramount. An uncluttered white background is generally the most readable.Text on a colour background is too hard to read.
- Think about how you want your visitors to journey through your site. Try to make this journey intuitive for the first time visitor with clear navigation.
- Avoid uploading images over 40 kilobytes. Several large images on a page will make it slow to download.
- If uploading a large document, for example a PDF report with lots of colourful images, split the file into manageable chunks of, say, 300kb each for quick download.
- Most users scan web pages, rather than reading from top to bottom. Keep content as short as possible and "chunk" your information into bullet points or under subheadings. If you have long page of text, use text anchor links so the reader doesn't have to scroll down endlessly.
- Use image slideshows or graphs to cut down on descriptive text.
- Check for broken links as often as possible.
- Avoid eyecatching graphics, such as animated graphics and flashing logos. They get can annoying and detract from the information on the page.
Further info
GreenNet Australia
http://www.green.net.au/index.html
Offers advice and support on building home pages (which they host) and provides internet access and email services for environment and activist groups. Also includes a comprehensive directory of community and green groups.
The Virtual Activist
http://www.netaction.org/training/
An online manual for using the web to campaign.
