Member Services
Web Site Services
The Federation of Alliances Françaises USA, as a service to its membership, is pleased to offer Web Hosting Services and Web Site Design Assistance to help chapters develop or revise their own web sites at a very low cost and have them hosted with no monthly charge.
Web Hosting Services
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As a service to its membership, the Federation is now able to host at no cost smaller static .html websites on the server where its own web site is hosted, thanks to its sponsor, Champs-Elysées, Inc. The only restriction is that the web sites be in html and of small to medium size. The site is hosted on a subdirectory of the Federation's web site. If your Alliance decides to keep the Federation's web address with a path (such as: http://www.afusa.org/af/afSanDiego/), then the hosting service is completely free.
If your Alliance prefers to have its own web address (such as: http://afSanDiego.org), then the site can still reside at the same location on the sub-directory of the Federation's web site, but you will have to choose your Domain Name, and do the set-up on the pair.com server. There is a small cost of about 2 to 3 dollars a month associated to the set-up, the IP, and the DNS.
A few Alliances are already using the free hosting service:
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Bonita Springs, FL afbonitasprings.org
Buffalo, NY afbuffalo.org
Detroit, MI www.afusa.org/af/detroit
Greenwich, CT www.afgreeenwich.org
Grosse Pointe, MI afusa.org/af/grossepointe
New Haven, CT afusa.org/af/newhaven
New Orleans, LA afusa.org/af/neworleans
San Diego, CA afusa.org/af/afSanDiego
Norfolk, Chapitre de Grasse, VA afusa.org/af/norfolk
Omaha, NE afusa.org/af/omaha
Pinellas County, FL afusa.org/af/pinellas
Santa Cruz, CA afusa.org/af/santacruz
Tulsa, AZ afusa.org/af/tulsa
Westchester, NY afusa.org/af/westchester
Web Site Design Assistance
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The Federation has assumed all the design expenses for the development of a flexible template for chapter web sites. This template may be used FREE of cost by member chapters that wish to create a new web site or revise their current web site.
Template Sample
Each chapter will need to personalize the template by adding a photo banner with the AF name and by selecting which "buttons" are appropriate to the chapter needs. The web designer cost for personalizing the template header and menu structure comes to $100. During this current year 2006, the Federation will assume $75 of this basic cost, and ask a chapter for a participation of $25. (If a chapter wishes to hire the Federation web designer, Brenda Stynes, to do additional work, such a chapter will contract directly with the designer.)
A few Alliances are already using the template:
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Buffalo, NY www.afbuffalo.org
Chapitre de Grasse, VA www.afusa.org/af/norfolk/
Greenwich, CT www.afgreeenwich.org
Grosse Pointe, MI http://www.afusa.org/af/grossepointe/
Omaha, NE www.afusa.org/af/omaha
Saint Joseph, MO www.missouriwestern.edu/orgs/alliance
Portland OR www.afportland.org
Charleston, SC www.afcharleston.org/orgs/alliance
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Each chapter will assume the responsibility of maintaining and updating its web site. This will require the acquisition of the appropriate software and the designation of a chapter webmaster.
The Federation webmaster, Joe Rivlin, is able to offer guidance and suggestions FREE of charge as a service to member chapters.
Steps to Getting a Web Site
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Whether you are the President of your Alliance, or the Web liaison, please meet with your Board of Directors and consider the following points, before contacting the Federation webmaster for assistance in creating your new site
- The Web liaison person will act as webmaster and do the updating him/herself. This is obviously the best solution. Once the Web liaison person has determined what material is to be updated, and the wording of the new text, it will not take him/her any longer to upload the text that it would to tell someone else what to do.
It is definitely a worthwhile investment for the AF chapter to pay a computer professional to train the novice webmaster how to do the updates.—
- The Web liaison person will identify someone in-house who can do the updating (and who can be trained, if necessary).
You may need to pay this insider a modest hourly fee. (In-house updating is MUCH cheaper than hiring an outside company to do the updating for you.)
Another option is to identify a computer-science intern from a local college or university who will do the work pro bono so as to have the AF internship listed on his/her resumÃ.
1. Creating and putting up a website is a long term enterprise. Not only do you want to have an attractive site, but you will need to update it with some regularity. The frequency of this updating, of course, depends on the size of your AF and the number of your activities, classes, etc.
2. The first step is to identify someone in your organization who is interested in taking charge of the website. This local Web liaison person must not only be reliable, but should plan to remain active in this role for at least the next couple of years. Ideally this person will have some technical knowledge.
3. Next, your Web liaison person will work with your Board in determining what type of information you want to have on your site, and then will work with the Federation webmaster in adapting the generic AF template to the needs of your chapter.
4. Your Web liaison person will also be responsible for overseeing the regular updating of your website. The Web liaison person who will to determine what information is to be added, and what information is to be deleted.
5. Someone must be identified who will do the actual updating. There are two basic options:
6. Once you and your Board have identified your Web liaison person, and determined the type of web site that would be appropriate for your Chapter needs, and once you have decided how you will handle the updating, please have the Web liaison person contact:—
Joe Rivlin
Webmaster, www.afusa.org
The Federation is at your service to help your AF Chapter development and maintain an attractive and useful web site.