Florida Kiwanis

Web Site Help

A web site can be a powerful communication and public relations tool for your club or division, but how do you get one going? If you would like to set up a web site for your Kiwanis Club or Division, there are three questions you need to answer first...

Where will I put it?
How do I make it?
What will it have on it?

Click on the three questions above to start answering these questions. If you already have a site up and running, be sure to tell the Webmaster about it so we can post it in the directory of Florida District Web Sites. If you get stuck, the Internet Services Committee will try to help you out. Just click here to ask for HELP!

Where will I put it?

In order to put a site on the web, you need to have space on a host computer, usually called a "server," for your site to be stored on. This computer is specially set up to host web sites, it is connected to the Internet with a high-speed connection and is on all the time. You may already have access to some space on a server through your ISP (Internet Service Provider - the service you are using to get on the web now), or you may have space available through your business.

If you don't have an available server, there are many services which will sell you spaces or give it to you for free.

Wherever you get your web space from, before you start on the next step there are a few things that you need to have. They should be provided by whoever runs your web server. They are:

The address that will be used to access your site. (ex. http://www.floridakiwanis.com/)
A user name to access the server.
A password to go with your user name.
Some instructions specific to that server, if available.

Some of the free sites out there will allow you to skip the next step by letting you build your site online, using web-page based tools. These sites are very easy to put together, but are somewhat limited in what you can do with them.

How do I make it?

Many great web sites exist to help you create web pages, so we won't attempt to duplicate their efforts here. We hope this list of site building pages will help you get started:

Webmonkey Authoring (from Wired)
CNET Builder.com

There is a lot of software out there that will help you build and manage your site. Here are a few...

Netscape Communicator - If you are using Netscape as your browser, then you already have access to Netscape Composer - a free web page editor.
Microsoft Front Page - This comes with many editions of Microsoft Office, and is a good editor for beginners.
Macromedia Dreamweaver - Expensive but powerful and easy to learn.
Check out this article from CNET - 5 Web Editors under $50,

What do I put on it?

Anything useful and beneficial to your club!

Start with the Kiwanis International Guidelines for Web Sites.
The Kite Team has helpful tips and resources
Check out the Florida District Web Site Award Guidelines (coming soon)

Imitation is the best form of flattery, right? Check out some other Kiwanis web sites and see what they have done. Go to:

Finally, here are a few sites with useful design tips. Nobody likes a web site that loads slowly, and makes it hard to find what they are looking for!

Creating web pages and sites is like anything else - the more you do it, the better you get. Don't forget to submit your final site to the Webmaster so we can list it in our directory!