Sonoma County Trails Council Website Project
From RG-Bibliowiki
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Site Needs
(notes from 4/2/2007 meeting of Rob Helms, Carlos Perez and Geoffrey Skinner)
What are the primary needs for Sonoma County Trails Council's website overhaul (also see current site and Carlos' mock-up built on Blogger)? Current and possible areas:
| Page/Area/Item | Use | Status | Development Directions and Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home page/welcome | Currently have | Alerts, calendar, slide show, other widgets | |
| About Us | Organization info, history | Currently have | ? |
| Calendar of events (Projects & Events) | lists events for SCTC and other orgs | Currently have | Google Calendar or other type of calendar with linking events; possibly display list by different sorts (date, agency, region). Integrate a view into home page? |
| Parks and Trail Maps | static map, links to agency sites | Currently have | Linkable map; tie into interactive trail/park database (MySQL?)- Carlos can design an interface. Rob suggests highlighting shared use parks/trails. Organize map by non-political regions (landforms or watersheds?) |
| Membership | membership info and printable form | Currently have | Interactive form for online membership; possibly PayPal enabled |
| Links and Resources | Links to various trail orgs and info | Currently have | Portal to a variety of resources, incl. "Trail talk," photos, expanded info on outdoor rec and conservation orgs; partners |
| Donate Now! | Encourage people to make online donations via PayPal or other process | Future - high priority | Need secure method; we would want a relatively low cost solution |
| Volunteer management | Event signups, volunteer tracking | Future - High priority | Could do this through VolunteerMatch (membership level); even auto-reply form would be useful |
| Newsletters | Archive of older issues (PDF?) and possibly current (or selections from current). | Future - High priority | Level of membership/general public access issues |
| E-updates/alerts | Current news, alerts for upcoming events | Future - Medium priority? | Integrate into home page? Need to make prominent and easy way to sign up - RSS? Email form? |
| Reports | Event reports posted by Rob or others | Future - Medium? | Database - search by date, event, location, etc. ; Rob wants to be able to post easily (maybe from Word) |
| Wishlist | Needs of all sorts | Future - Medium priority? | Rob reports good results from pleas in newsletter |
This is not a comprehensive list, but can be used as a framework to think about organization and future directions.
In addition to the content, I want the new site to be fully ADA Section 508 compliant.
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Website Templates and Designs
As a starting point for redesigning the look of the SCTC website, we're looking at various sites and templates. Here are a few, with comments:
| Organization | What I like | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rails to Trails | Menus on left: “I want to...” and quick resource links; prominent alerts on home page | |
| Bonneville Shoreline Trail | Nice photos + logo | Single trail focus; site hand coded |
| Florida Trails Association | Calendar on home page | myPHP website; most features part of suite |
| American Trails | Lots of resources; pretty nice layout (though a bit busy); Section 508 compliant (prominently noted) | Dreamweaver site |
| ITS Trail Committee | Very basic site, but on list because of software package | Joomla (CMS) site; built on template from Joomlashack |
| Allegheny Valley Trails Association | Trail thumbnails | |
| Alaska Trails | Good spotlighting of timely events and news | Created with IE editor |
| Pacific Crest Trails Association | Compact, uncluttered home page; prominent site search box. I like icons. Rather than drop down menus, each page has a new line of sub-items | Dreamweaver; fixed width |
| Washington Trails Association | Volunteer hours prominently displayed! Tabbed menu works well; a bit busy, but most content within a short scroll. Check out the Trail Guide; also separate Trip Report | Dreamweaver? |
| American Hiking Society | Nice banner | Dreamweaver? |
| Backcountry Bicycles Trails Club | Stats, calendars; various Google apps integrated | PHP site |
| Volunteers for Outdoor CO | Clean look; dropdown menus work well | Big site – slow to load; created with Digital Experience Platform |
| Volunteers for Outdoor WA | Nice colors | Image heavy – slow to load |
| Volunteers for Outdoor CA | Clean, uncluttered home page; attractive | Dreamweaver? |
