Websites are now a requirement for associations. Assembling web pages is relatively easy. Collecting the pages into a website gets more complicated. Allowing membership and event sign-up is more complicated still. And making sure that the resulting site can be maintained takes most associations beyond what amateurs can provide.

I can help. I’ve been involved in the design and maintenance of a number of association websites. I’ve been a happy part of successful association sites, and a not so happy part of less successful sites. In my experience, picking an approach that fits the needs, aspirations, and capabilities of the association is key. I can help you select the best approach and I can provide on-going advice and support.

There is no “one size fits all” solution for association websites. There are easy solutions for a “brochure” website. If that's all you need, I can help you find a simple, effective approach. As soon as your association needs online membership, events, or donations, things get more complicated. I’ve had success with two specific approaches. One depends on an online service offering, the other is based on open source applications.

• Wild Apricot offers an online service that can be used to build an association website. The resulting site supports online membership, events, and donations. Wild Apricot provides automatic technical enhancement and support. It can be a successful approach for associations with standard website requirements.
• Drupal + CiviCRM is an alternative open source approach. CiviCRM handles membership, events, donations, and more. Durpal provides a very general front-end that supports a full range of web based services. The combination can be a very powerful platform that supports a wide range of association website requirements.

These are but two of an almost endless list of possible alternatives. I have the experience to help your association decide on the approach that will to lead to success.

Give me a call. Together we’ll decide if it makes sense for me to be involved in your website project.

Bob Fabian
bob@fabian.ca
416-769-1885