I have been asked to help redo my non-profit website. I would like to make it look better. What would be the best way to do this? I have some technical background and can learn. I have looked at various options such as Joomla, word press and so on but I am not certain on how to create a good UI for it. I have also looked at Ruby and such, which I think may be overkill for a static page such as this. I haven't done any programming etc in a few years, but I figure this may be an opportunity to get back into it.
+2
A:
wordpress http://wordpress.org/ is awesome for such small sites. can use php to improve on the theme (coding), and can even try and design one if you have such talents (design).
there is also a lot of support out there (and here) for it.
can also add facebook, twitter, etc... gadgets and engage the social crowd (marketing, engagement, branding).
enjoy yourself :)
b0x0rz
2010-05-31 21:32:23
+1
A:
UI depends on markup, stylesheets, graphic design, information architecture, usability and accessibility.
The use (or otherwise) of any server side technology is irreverent (except that it might help you generate similar bits of markup from templates).
David Dorward
2010-05-31 21:38:24
+1 Everyone else seems to be missing the point. The OP says "I would like to make it look better." This has nothing to do with wordpress or joomla or ruby, it has to do with graphic design. If you want the site to LOOK good, and your skillset is programming, you need to partner with a graphic designer. Programmers nearly always make bad designers.
micmcg
2010-05-31 23:47:15
You are right, this is about UI firstly. I was hoping that one of these solutions will be best suited for improving the UI via the use of templates. Let me know, if I am wrong about this. I would still like to try on my own as it would be a learning experience no matter what and I am not being paid for this, so might as well try to do it myself.
moorecats
2010-06-01 10:56:59
As I said. Templates save you time when duplicating bits of common markup. That's as far as they go. Design is design (a rather large (non-programing related) discipline by itself).
David Dorward
2010-06-01 11:19:30
+1
A:
Will you want a Donate button? How'll it be handled? It changes a lot of things on a website when money is involved: security of the server and of the database, choice of CMS, etc
Another key aspect is multilinguism: only a few CMS handle it correctly; one test being the results of a search that should return articles written only in one language, the current one. Sprachen sie allemand un poquito? :)
I have some technical background and can learn.
Opera Web Standards Curriculum has great people teaching you about webdesign a little and web standards a lot.
Other useful resources include A List Apart and Smashing Magazine. Just don't try to read everything, begin by The ALA Primer: A Guide for New Readers and Part two (#9 should be replaced by conditional comments), Coaching a Community depending on you non-profit activity, etc
Design tools I use: Photoshop is overkill and overpriced, Fireworks is done for the web and seems affordable in comparison (I may be kidding). I don't use anything else but've heard of MS Expression Web and some people using The Gimp (free, GPL).
Quick tips:
- be consistent (design of your links, buttons, typography, forms, etc),
- think web not Letter/A4 size (there is no constraint of length, short or long),
- be explicit (labels and headings),
- know what you've to say firsthand,
- think about sufficient contrast, space left for people who need to zoom text-mode, height of your blocks may vary in height a lot so beware of gradients (stick to horizontal or vertical ones),
Once you got a design and are beginning to write static HTML/CSS, use a cross-browser compatible layout from Layout Gala. Take a look to accessibility and WCAG 2.0 in particular.
Felipe Alsacreations
2010-05-31 23:04:20