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Getting Started on the Internet

• Making the Net Work is putting together 'how to' guidance for those wanting to get their organisation or neighbourhood online.

• See our sample Key questions for an Online Communication Strategy. What should you consider before you get stuck in?

• ICt Hub's Knowledgebase Internet section.

Further resources

• There is no point us reproducing information widely available on such sites as WebMonkey (for technical advice and info) or TheFreeSite (for guides on free software or services). The search facility on Whatis.com is another rated service.

• The downloadable HTML tutor from Insights has been recommended on sector lists.

• Writing for the Web is a corporate training firm, but has useful articles on its site.

• Microsoft Developers Network has published a 3 pager, Critical Thinking in Web and Interface Design, which web developers ought to read, and others can take note of the questions which ought to be asked. We have reproduced the latter on Web Accessibility/Design page.

• American but useful: SitePoint (was PromotionBase) on how to market/use your site.

Publications

Making Sense of the Internet, Mark Watson, published by National Institute for Social Work (1998), ISBN 1 899942 23 8, £6-50. Subtitled 'a guide for small voluntary organisations', available via DSC.

Business, the Internet and the Law - 'your entry point to the world of e-commerce'. Tolley's ISBN 0 7545 0107 8 £49-95.

Online Communication

Email/discussion lists

• Coyote Communications (an American service provider to non-profits) has various TechTips on use of internet, including creating and using email newsletters.

• e-mint (or see their yahoo groups page) is a UK discussion forum (on and off line) on e-communities.

News Feeds, Podcasts, Blogs

See CharityBlog for some live examples of sector productions.

• Blogs - check out WordPress or Movable Type (both available for downlaod to your own server or hosted). Google runs Blogger and there are plenty of other hosted services.
• RSS/news feeds are often available automatically from hosted blog services. FeedBurner is one service which can help promote feeds - read its introduction to RSS.
• Create podcasts using your PC - O'Reilly article spring 05.
• Corante Podcasting weblog for wider background.
• Odeo is one aggregation/distribution channel for podcasts - there are plenty of others but this is focused and well-respected.
• Community Media Association provides an Internet Media Service with streaming media servers in Sheffield and in London Docklands, connected directly to the UK Internet backbone, free to its not-for-profit members.

Web Site development

See Web Services for design, development and technical stuff. If you want to do as much as possible yourself, see our page on web accessibility which also covers usability etc.

Simple web pages/sites

• SmartChange offers free web pages for small and medium voluntary organisations alongside donation facilities, volunteering listing services and more. Phone 020 7401 5410, email: info@smartchange.org

• The local/regional newspaper sites listed on Local Contacts provide an easy and free way of putting voluntary group information online, although it may not be easy for those outside the newspaper's area to find.

Facilities and tools

Note: info here could do with an update!

Homestead is one of the most well known free facilities. Now allows fast drag and drop site creation plus a whole host of extras, including email account. Should still be 'clubs and organisations' templates there somewhere.

HumanClick is a utility for connecting web visitors to a live, human operator.

How we got this site going

VR started out by using software from front cover CD-ROMS of such magazines as InternetWorks and .net - Arachnoid, CuteFTP and then a Dreamweaver 30 day demo. This is probably the best way to try out ideas and software. There is also a lot you can download over the web, but phone bills soon mount up with 15 minute sessions, and you usually end up without any 'getting started' documentation.

We currently use a variety of software tools, but mainly Macromedia's Dreamweaver for its ability to keep things simple, plus Kerchunga's content management technology for the News and Events sections. We also sometimes use or previously have used HomeSite (bundled with Dreamweaver), Fireworks and free or demo version tools such as Irfan View (graphics manipulation), Commence 2000 (calendar/contacts to HTML), Astra Site Manager (to check site structure and links). Current web link checker is Xenu's Link Sleuth.

• Response-o-matic provides form processing.
• See our Search page for search engine facilities.
• Moreover provides a News feed.