[Sagamore Online] Google Sites

[Dave Allen Barker Jr]

I've setup a Google Site to play with.

https://sites.google.com/a/sagamorehillspta.org/test-google-sites/

As John and I discussed
<https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_qBLMFixutrDI4Q-GAWrHXbqRi-n4pil4vUCNmybuiA/edit>,
in the wake of the pending school website change, we are evaluating
website platform options and thinking about content.  Google Sites are
free with our Google Nonprofit account
<http://www.9.0ne.org/w/Sagamore_Hills_PTA_Google_account>.  Anyone in
the sagamorehillspta Google group
<http://www.9.0ne.org/w/Sagamore_Hills_PTA_Google_account#sagamorehillspta.40sagamorehillspta.org>
(like those recently listed with Google Drive access
<http://list.9.0ne.org/archive/sagamore.online/2013-October/000107.html>) can
edit the site.

Here are my first impressions.

The really keep it simple.  For those who understand how things can
work, this can be frustrating, but for everyone else, I imagine it will
be enjoyed.  For example, there's no templating system ala MediaWiki,
there's no site wide css override (you can use css per page), styling on
built-in gadgets is minimal, and generated navigation is only
hierarchical (no tagging).  Again, this may all be well since most
contributors won't miss these things, and those in the know can't
confuse future collaborators with technically interesting solutions.

The Google tie in stuff is really easy.  Yeah, most of it can be done
with some code copy/paste into a Wordpress page, but having gui options
staring at you—like inserting a Doc or video or calendar, spreadsheet
backed survey form, or a twitter feed—really encourages their use.

Oh yeah, and by default content transforms pretty well for mobile
viewing, inline stacking elements that would normally crowd horizontally
and such.  Again, the site right now is just a playground for evaluation
Google Sites.  I did some rough styling, but it can be modified.

I'm going to continue to plug some content in there and play with how it
might be organized, as such decisions will need to be made regardless of
the website platform we go with.  I'm thinking I'd like to emphasize:

  * Search (so users don't have to hunt and peck through menus, trying
    to guess where we parked something)
  * Highlight where users might want to go next from the page they're on
    (contextual navigation)
  * Linking everything to death and making sure there's a dedicated page
    for every important topic
  * Experiment with bringing in more "how things work" knowledge that
    volunteers use, without bringing noise to information for our
    general audience

(If you or others find this kind of stuff interesting, be sure you're on
the Sagamore Online discussion list
<http://list.9.0ne.org/list/listinfo/sagamore.online> so you won't miss
any of the action! :) )

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://list.9.0ne.org/archive/sagamore.online/attachments/20131004/2cfcebec/attachment.html>