<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> </head> <body bgcolor="" text=""> I've setup a Google Site to play with. <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/sagamorehillspta.org/test-google-sites/">https://sites.google.com/a/sagamorehillspta.org/test-google-sites/</a> As <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_qBLMFixutrDI4Q-GAWrHXbqRi-n4pil4vUCNmybuiA/edit">John and I discussed</a>, in the wake of the pending school website change, we are evaluating website platform options and thinking about content. Google Sites are free with <a href="http://www.9.0ne.org/w/Sagamore_Hills_PTA_Google_account">our Google Nonprofit account</a>. Anyone in the <a href="http://www.9.0ne.org/w/Sagamore_Hills_PTA_Google_account#sagamorehillspta.40sagamorehillspta.org">sagamorehillspta Google group</a> (like <a href="http://list.9.0ne.org/archive/sagamore.online/2013-October/000107.html">those recently listed with Google Drive access</a>) 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: <ul> <li>Search (so users don't have to hunt and peck through menus, trying to guess where we parked something)</li> <li>Highlight where users might want to go next from the page they're on (contextual navigation)</li> <li>Linking everything to death and making sure there's a dedicated page for every important topic</li> <li>Experiment with bringing in more "how things work" knowledge that volunteers use, without bringing noise to information for our general audience </li> </ul> (If you or others find this kind of stuff interesting, be sure you're on the <a href="http://list.9.0ne.org/list/listinfo/sagamore.online">Sagamore Online discussion list</a> so you won't miss any of the action! :) ) </body> </html>