Let’s say you run a small nonprofit organisation. You want a website and that’s going to cost you two main things: staff time and money; but what if you have no budget? Absolutely zero. Provided you have the staff time to contribute, you have options:
- Learn web design – takes ages to learn properly, not realistic for most busy charity employees;
- Look for funding – takes time and a measure of luck and patience;
- Find a volunteer – a sensible option to consider, maybe try IT4C;
- Use a free online tool to create a simple website – what are the benefits and drawbacks?
From the early days of the world wide web there have been online tools to help you create your own website. Remember when every other website was created with Geocities (not a recommendation) or a similar tool? Most of these services were frankly awful, both in terms of visual appeal and accessibility.
The free Google Sites might be better, enabling you to put together a cross between a website and a wiki. It won’t create the most impressive or original website – the templating seems very basic – but it will enable you to start up a basic website and create pages and upload documents, calendars, images etc.
One useful feature is that you can use various Google tools to collaborate with other people to build up your site content – in some ways Google Sites could be better suited to building a quick and uncomplicated Intranet than a website.
Want to find out more?
- The CodeKindness blog has a post about how PeaceGames, a small US nonprofit, used Google Sites.
- Why Google Sites isn’t a website builder.
- Take a quick look at what the Wild Apricot website had to say about Google Sites.
- Why Judi Sohn is disappointed with it.
- The example of a nonprofit that gave itself a Google Makeover.
My own opinion? I might recommend it to a cash-strapped nonprofit that couldn’t afford to hire a web designer or can’t find a volunteer, that wants a simple Intranet to share docs with their volunteers and trustees. I’m not sure whether it projects a professional enough image as a public-facing website.
Is anyone out there using Google Sites – how useful have you found it?
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I’m a little uncomfortable with Google sites for an organization’s public website. Part of this is due to Google’s claim on ownership (read the terms of service carefully, all who may be considering it!), but I’m also not sure how professional it looks.
Plus, there are other cheap options: most web hosts now include access to some sort of simple editor, there are open source WYSIWYG editors, and there are so many easy CMS options now. (And even if an org has to sink a little cash hiring someone to set up the CMS initially, anyone should be able to maintain the site thereafter.)
KL
on October 28th, 2008