If your website looks like it was beat with the ugly stick, have hope. Download our guide Upgrading to a Drupal CMS for step-by-step instructions on how to guide your website from outdated to fabulous:

• How to evaluate your existing website content
• How to survey your visitors to see what they want and need
• How to perform a needs assessment
• How to create measurable goals
• How to write helpful RFPs
• How to choose a web designer
• How to make smart staffing decisions

… plus templates and cheat sheets for making the whole process easier. Don’t use Drupal? No worries. It’s useful for any kind of website redesign.

Oh, did I mention there’s no cost?

Check it out now by requesting your download: Click here.

One of the least exciting things to hear when you start on a new web project is, “Not yet.”

That’s just what we’ve been saying since Drupal 7 debuted in January 2011. True, it’s a robust and powerful system with excellent accessibility, and we’re using it for a few of our clients now, but not everybody.

Why not jump in? First of all, it’s not quite ready for everyone. Contributors to Drupal 7 are still busy finding and patching bugs and upgrading the features from earlier versions so they work on this new version.

Secondly, it can be a heavy expense. Upgrading from an earlier version of Drupal isn’t simply downloading a patch and refreshing your screen. It’s a whole new website. Any new website takes time to build, not even including moving over all the content (words and images) and testing. Time and complexity equal money, and an organization needs to have a strong case for upgrading before making that decision.

One exception is if you’re using a very old version of Drupal, such as version 5 or earlier. The Drupal community stopped supporting and patching version 5 last year, so they’re vulnerable to security breaches and should be updated as soon as possible.

Our advice? Absolutely pull on your swimsuit, but check with your developer (or just contact us) before plunging into an upgrade.

Health Imperatives, a public health agency in Brockton, Mass., knows that the healthiest clients are the ones they can reach the best. That’s why they worked with Talance to create an innovative new website that brings together their myriad programs under one domain.

The new website brings together several features designed to help guide visitors around the site, including a handy “drawer” style menu (click Programs and Services), plus a robust multi-site format that keeps the various programs, each with its own identity, looking similar. Because the site is built on Drupal, administrators from each program are able to make their own edits.

The site incorporates many features, including an online store, registration for a large online learning program, forums, search and private user areas.

Visit the site.

Online calendars are an effective and affordable way to improve attendance at your events and generally promote what you do. Zip them up with calendars, directions and sign-up forms, and you’ll have even better attendance. Here are a few tips to help you create your best-ever listings.

1. Add a map.

If your event is in a physical place, a map answers questions about location before they’re asked. Google Maps makes it dead easy to embed an interactive map into the event detail page, and makes it easy for your attendees to find driving directions. Use the Link feature on Google Maps to find the website code you need to include the map.

As a helpful addition, add any site-specific directions, such as, “Second door on the right,” or “Parking permitted in Lot A on Sundays.”

2. Link to sign-up forms.

It should be dead easy for registrants to sign up for your event as soon as they learn about it. Create direct links to your registration form with a call-to-action button: “Register now!” If you don’t accept online registration (and you should!), at least provide a downloadable signup form in PDF format with mailing directions.

3. Write a full listing.

Brevity has its merits, but it’s helpful to create as complete a listing as possible on the event page. Include goals of the events, dates and times, speaker information – as much information as you anticipate people asking.

4. Add pictures.

Include visual interest with pictures of the event location, speaker headshots or pictures of people enjoying previous similar events.

5. Let attendees add the event to their calendar.

Many online calendars (including Drupal) let you provide events in a downloadable format, such as ICAL or ICS. Attendees can then save the event to their Outlook or other calendar program. They’ll have a hard time forgetting your event if it’s on their own schedule.

[Image: Flickr user shinyai]

The Talance team will be at Drupal Design Camp Boston this weekend at MIT. We’re looking forward to sharing designing and usability ideas with others who work on Drupal. We’ll also be talking to nonprofiteers and Drupal newbies to pick up insight into how we can help you better. Stay tuned for special reporting of the event.

Give us a shout if you’re interested in meeting up!

Honestly, who feels like delving into those voice mails and uncompleted projects this early in the week? Fill your cup of coffee and watch these five great little movies that will help polish your tech education.

What Is Drupal? from help.asu.edu on Vimeo.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) basics for Non-Profit Organizations (NPO) from Firstgiving on Vimeo.

Demo Usability Test by Steve Krug from Larmon VanWinkle on Vimeo.

History of the Internet from Melih Bilgil on Vimeo.

Why Video Content Is Important from WebDesign.com on Vimeo.

Stuff goes on at your organization, and you need to tell people about it. That’s frequently the level of consideration people give their website calendar. That’s selling yourself short. Calendar tools, especially those that work on content management systems like Drupal, are full of features that can help you engage more people at your site and your events.

1. Automatically publish and expire events.

Sometimes you want to add events that don’t show up until they’re relevant. Maybe there’s a special launch you don’t want anyone to know about until a particular date, but you don’t want to have to remember to add it later. By scheduling your event to appear on a certain date, you don’t have to. You can also similarly set events to expire.

2. Subscribe to new events via RSS feeds.

If you have an RSS-using audience, they can subscribe to your calendar’s automatic RSS feed to find out what’s happening as soon as you add it.

3. Feature special events on your homepage.

Some events are really special, and you want them to show up on a particular page of your website, such as the homepage. You can have a Featured check box that lets you highlight events without having to redundantly enter them in two places.

4. Export events in iCalendar format.

ICalendar format allows you to share event information and display events in different programs, such as Microsoft Outlook or Google Calendar. You can have a tool that lets people automatically convert your website’s events in iCal format so they can easily add it to their personal calendars.

5. Add a date-picker to the homepage.

Rather than a plain link that says Calendar, add a little date-picker that lets people choose a date in the month and see what’s happening then.

6. Highlight what’s happening this hour, this day or this week.

Websites can look much more active if you can see what’s going on in the immediate future. Your website can automatically create lists to show what’s happening in set timeframes.

7. Set regular events to recur.

If you have a training session that happens every Tuesday of every month, you can add it once and have it appear on every Tuesday thereafter.

8. Create event categories.

Some of your events may appeal only to staff members, some may relate to holidays. You can create categories on each of your events to create classifications that show events that match only those categories.

9. RSVP.

If you have an event coming up that you need people to RSVP to, you can do it directly from your calendar.

10. Sign-up.

Similarly, you might need people to register for an event. Why not include the sign-up form directly in the event itself?

[Have a question you’d like answered? Use the comments form at the bottom of this page to submit it. We’ll review your question before posting (don’t be shy about asking!) and get back to you with a response.]

Last week, I mentioned one of the most frequently asked questions we receive is: “What is Drupal?” A close second is: “What’s the difference between Drupal and WordPress?” This is closely related to the frequently asked, “Which is better: Drupal or WordPress?”

Drupal, which you learned last week, is a content management system (CMS) that you can use as your website. It’s also great at handling big gobs of information, like contact databases, or handling things like online shopping. It can also have a blog in it.

WordPress, on the other hand, is a CMS that’s purpose-built for blogging. There are some pretty sophisticated WordPress sites that can do a lot, but it really excels at blogs. It handles new posts (like the one you’re reading right now) and comments excellent. It also has really great SEO.

In summary, Drupal is great if you want a scalable, easy-to-use, super-powerful website. WordPress is nice if your primary goal is to publish blog articles and develop some conversation around those.

[This little gem is the text of issue our e-mail newsletter subscribers just received. Want a slice of this for yourself? Sign up now.]

Hi, Friends.

Synagogues, congregations and tiny organizations, hold on to your socks. Big news here at Talance. We’ve just launched a super-sweet deal for you. In addition to our excellent custom websites, for only $1999, you can have a fabulous Drupal website that can grow and evolve with you.

»Click here to get started!

Here’s how it works:

1. Pick your favorite design

Get started with a clean, super-powered website hosted on the Drupal content management system (CMS). It includes tools for improving search engine optimization, a Microsoft Word-like text editor and six months free Web hosting. Yep, free.

2. Customize

Send us your logo (if you have one – we can help if you don’t), your two favorite colors and a couple pictures to include on the homepage. You can also pick from any of these Web tools for free:

E-Newsletter
Interactive Calendar
Blog
Advanced site search
File storage
Listserv
Membership forms
Members-only section
Photo album
Registration form
Shabbat times calendar
Weekly Torah Portion (from MyJewishLearning)

You can keep updating from an extensive list of advanced Web tools.

3. Relax

We do all the set-up and configuration to get you up online fast – in just five working days. You read that right. Five.

» Get started right now!

And make sure to tell your friends about this stellar offer! We’re at (888) 810-9109 or use this form.

Your Internet pal,

Monique

Spotlight on Mass Mentoring Partnership

We’re really glad to have worked with this stellar organization on a few projects, the most recent being a redesigned website. Check out the new and improved Mass Mentors, including it’s snappy new slideshow, colors and upgraded design.

»See it

Two Learning Opps for Organizations

Please join Talance for two special in-person appearances in Massachusetts:

Online Tools – How Can They Help Your Business Grow
eBiz 2009, sponsored by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce
Oct. 23, 2009
8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

It’s your chance to pick up advice and tips on free and nearly-free online tools from Talance’s CEO Monique Cuvelier at this panel discussion hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. Sign up for a full day of e-business tips.

»Sign up for eBiz 2009!

Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and More: Creating Relationships with Volunteers and the Public through Social Media, sponsored by the Massachusetts Service Alliance
Nov. 10, 2009
8:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon.

During this 3-hour in-person workshop, Monique Cuvelier will cover 1) How to maximize your reach to existing and potential volunteers; 2) Strategies for putting together a social media plan; and 3) The essential tools and services, including tips on streamlining your social media practice.

»Sign up for Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and More!

Blog Favorites

In honor of our new offering for congregations, here are some highlights from the Talance Friendly Web Tools Blog. Make sure you’re reading http://talance.com/blog and get automatic updates of new articles.

10 Things To Include on Your Synagogue Site – Now!

30 Ideas on How Congregations Can Use Twitter

Five Great Takeaways from Church Websites

Killer Church Websites

Nonprofit Tech Tips from a Wired Rabbi

Need Some Help?

Talance has helped clients launch scores of projects, ranging from websites to online newsletters to CRM projects. Please click here to schedule a time to talk about your next project or to request a proposal.

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Don’t keep this good stuff all to yourself. Click that Forward button and send to a friend.

[Have a question you’d like answered? Use the comments form at the bottom of this page to submit it. We’ll review your question before posting (don’t be shy about asking!) and get back to you with a response.]

One of the most common questions we’re asked here at Talance is: What is Drupal? It’s the technology that envelopes our every single day, but that doesn’t mean that everyone – or the common Web user – knows what it is. But it’s worth understanding, because a website built on Drupal can make your life a lot easier.

First off, let’s get the name out of the way. “Drupal” is a non-grammatical variation of the Dutch word “druppel,” which means “droplet.” It was invented by Dries Buytaert, who is Dutch, in 2001. It’s pronounced “DREW-pull.” Rumor has it he tried to call it “dorp,” which means “village” in Dutch, but made a typo when he registered it.

Drupal, in a phrase, is an open-source content management system. Now hold on, all of you now thinking, “But what do ‘open source’ and ‘content management system’ mean?” I’ll decompress that phrase.

Content management system

A content management system (CMS) is a used to manage the content of a website. It allows someone who may not know anything about how to create or edit webpages with languages like HTML, to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a website without needing the expertise of a Webmaster. Most CMSs include publishing, format management, revision control, indexing, search and retrieval.
(From SearchSOA.com Definitions)

Open source

Open source software is usually developed as a public collaboration and made freely available. It is intended to be freely shared and possibly improved and redistributed by others.
(From SearchEnterpriseLinux.com Definitions)

Those two definitions get to the core of what Drupal is. It’s a free piece of software that anybody can use to build and manage a website without being a technical genius.

The “free” part means that you don’t have to pay for license fees, as you would with a system built by a company like Microsoft. You only pay development costs, which boils down to much more powerful websites for much less money.

Websites built with Drupal aren’t any old brochure websites – you can really build on to these. Drupal websites incorporate blogs, forums, e-commerce functionality, contact management, donation management, social networking tools and a whole lot more. Here’s a sample of the things we regularly put into the websites we build.