Joined on 11-22-2005
TechSoup Member
I would like to move our organizations site someplace where I can have a log-in, a BB, maybe a biography/blog type of setup, picture uploads, the works. Our organization is in the health sector and people like to read about other peoples diagnoses, medications ect. I want it to be accessible to people with disabilities. I have been doing websites for 10 years, have a BS in computer science and my job is web assistant (I do everything and anything for the online daily paper). I have reached the point where I just don't have the time or the inclination to play with website code all day. I want to set things up so maybe others on the BOD can update things. I want something that might take effort to get running but once it's up is not a hassle and does no cost an arm and a leg.
Is there some miracle place or product our there that has all this, or most of it?
www.NING.com has some good tools that fill those requirements. (Social network tools)
Otherwise a free JOOMLA installation with a few added components would do the trick.
hth,
.
Joined on 10-22-2004
TechSoup Member
Wild Apricot is very easy to use website builder tailored for nonprofits. I would also recommend
Grassroots.org as a potentially great resource for your organization.
As far as more advanced tools, free open source tools like Drupal are great, but require more time investment to setup and maintain.
Ning is a fun tool. You may also just want to get a blogging tool, using something like wordpress, if all you really want is a bio, photos, and place to blog. Interplast, who is also in the health sector, uses a blog to great effect. There's a TechSoup article about them
here.
Joined on 11-22-2005
TechSoup Member
Thanks so much for help, and the links! I will check them out!
I hope that you did not mean the following statement literally... cuz there are laws against stuff like this:
Our organization is in the health sector and people like to read about other peoples diagnoses, medications ect.
:smile;
Joined on 11-22-2005
TechSoup Member
Which laws are you refering to? I just mean our members like to post their medical history, I don't post it, is that what you mean?
The term "medical history" brought to mind the history of diagnosis and treatment received by patients of your organization. HIPPA (Health Information Portability and Privacy Act) laws are very strict about what information you can and cannot make accessible to the general public.
Also note that merely password protecting such information is not sufficient. If you make use of a typical web host, then the information is not secure due to the very nature of shared hosting. You DO have a non-disclosure agreement signed by your web host...don't you?
The HIPPA laws are extensive, and well beyond the scope of a forum such as this. If you are developing applications for the health care industry it is imperitive that you understand what you can and cannot do with respect to patient information.
As I alluded to in my post, I sincerely hope that I was misinterpretting what you were trying to achieve!
:-)
I would also look at a hosted instance of Drupal. It would fulfill the needs you have expressed.
Best,
Matthew.
Joined on 11-22-2005
TechSoup Member
After checking them all out I'm doing the 30 day trial at Apricot. I have 3 non-tech board members who need to post things and Apricot seems to be the easiest because it looks like Word and it's easy to upload documents yet still allows me access to the HTMLif I want it. Plus we can start out with the 50 dollar package and upgrade if we need to. Best thing is I don't have upload scripts, update scripts or mess with a database for the members. I work on a website all day at work, I don't want to have to think when I get home! Plus I can work on the site from Work without having to drag in files on a CD or update my files at home after, it's all there on the site!
Joined on 06-27-2007
TechSoup Member
I would look into hosting your site with an organization that provides Fantastico- it will configure and install Joomla and / or Drupal so you can play around and see what works best for you. It can install WordPress and a bazillion other software tools as well, for free, and without requiring you to know a thing about programming.