If you�ve done some good thinking about the audience of your Web site, and outlined a targeted, focused first cut, building the initial site itself shouldn�t be too hard. The real challenge is keeping your Web site fresh, timely and up-to-date.

A Web site that�s full of outdated links, old action alerts and stale information makes your organization look ineffective and disorganized. Worse, it makes it look like you don�t care about presenting yourself to the world.   It�s vitally important to set aside regular time to keep your Web site up to date.

Add Web publishing to someone�s job description

If your organization produces a newsletter, you�ve probably made producing that that newsletter a part of someone�s job description, with the expectation that they will devote a certain percentage of their time to the project. If you�re serious about building a Web site, you need to make a real time commitment to it, rather than piling on top of someone's already-overbooked schedule. If it�s worth doing, it�s worth the time it takes to do it right. 

How Much Time Do You Need?

Set aside a minimum of several hours every other week. Doing Web updates in small but regular doses helps you avoid becoming overwhelmed with Web work.

Using Volunteers Effectively

If you are thinking of working with a volunteer to develop your site, then make sure that person is able to make a long-term commitment to:

• doing regular site maintenance; and
• training you on using a Web development tool
• so that your page doesn�t "die" when that volunteer moves on.

What To Do

• Check external links, purge/correct broken links
• Remove/archive expired action alerts and issue updates
• Develop new content
• How often? Every month!
• Set aside several hours every other week

Keep in Mind:
Anything you publish is potential Web material

Chances are, your organization already produces most of the raw material for your Web site, in the form of issue reports, action alerts, newsletter articles, etc. Producing high-quality source material is 80% of producing a good  Web site. Once you have the basic framework for your site developed, you merely need to include "Webification" in your existing publishing process in order to generate a steady stream of new material for your site.

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