Jump to content

New Web Page...Input wanted.


danfoxh

Recommended Posts

Our pack has decided to go to the world wide web!

 

The site is not done by any means, in fact we just started work on it. We have big plans for the site. In the kids area there will be games, educational tools, cub scouting tools, a "kid friendly" internet search engine, rank requirement help and support, a live chat, a message board (and im considering letting the kids sign up for web based email. In the end it will be a high end database driven website.

 

Yes we are designing it for our pack, however it is geared towards all cub scouts. Anyone will be able to sign up and enjoy the site.

 

That being said, I would appreciate any input you folks have. What would you like to see what would encourage your boys to learn about the internet in a safe environment etc...

 

the site can be found at www.pack224tucson.org

 

Thanks everyone

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beautifully done! But make sure that there is an user-friendly way to update it. That way there will more than one person updates it. Also, great graphics, but are your users in the Pack have broadband or dial up? One of the pitfall that our Pack experienced before on website is that the simpler and the more up-to-date the website is, the more people will visit and make good use out of it. We created a website for our pack 3 years ago. This is before the proliferation of cable modem and DSL. Not knowing any better, I put on alot of great graphics. About 70% of our Pack had dial up modem (running around 56k) and so visiting to the website was a slow and painful experience for them. Soon only a handful of broadband users (mostly from company T1) visited the site. The website died a quiet death. I created a second one, but by then, the folks in the Pack didn't want anything to do with the Internet and cubscouting. So that went the wayside as well!

 

About 6 months ago, I created a website for the Troop and followed through with what I saw as the problems with the Pack's websites (simplicity, regular updates, plenty of resources, etc.). To date, the site gets about 10-11 visits a day and averages about 80-90 a week. We don't send out permission slip via email any more. They simply go to the website to download it. So it goes to prove that Internet and Scouting can benefit one another ... so far.

 

One other tip, use pdf format to distribute your documents. As for updating, keep it interesting by update something new at least every week (if not more) and publicize the time that you are going to update it. People tend to give up after seeing the same thing over and over again.

 

I used to say, "Cub Scout and the Internet has some way to go before they can benefit one another." I think that the environment has changed or at least changing!

 

Your website is awesome! I'm envious. Very well thought out and great use of php!

 

Good luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! what great feedback.

 

I have made this a "dialup senstive" site. Though there are quite alot of graphics (actually less than you may think) they are all optimized for speedy page loading.

 

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definatly impliment them. The PDF idea, i gotta say, i hadnt even considered permission slips on the internet...

 

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...