The challenge of running a social organization is keeping everyone in touch and up-to-date.  While information can be spread by word of mouth and email, it isn’t always the most efficient method, especially as people move on in life and want to stay connected.

The fraternity was looking for a way to post information about upcoming events and stay in touch with alumni.  Like a lot of not-for-profit organizations, there was not much of a budget for things like “website development.”  Most people who use the web on a regular basis expect certain features, such as a calendar, search, and easy updating.  While all this seems rather easy and straight forward, implementing these features was not.

The solution:  Joomla.  Joomla sets up a pretty sophisticated CMS system that can be changed on the back end through CSS to make it appear any way you like.  With the addition of modules, I was able to add some of the basic functionality that was needed.  This included a few extras like a shoutbox and a photo gallery. With the addition of Fireboard, registered members can participate in forum discussions and share ideas.

Once properly trained, individual members of the fraternity will be able to make changes and updates to the site without any knowledge of HTML or help from the administrator.

Tools used:
• Joomla 1.5
• Photoshop CS
• Text Edit
• MySql