Is @DJRice still doing websites? If so, do that!
Holy Thread Resurrection Batman 
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I just got likes from comments from 2013, WTF is happening?
Do I get a prize for a 10 year res?
The thing Iām noticing here is that websites donāt survive long-term. Which is a shame.
The problem is that they only ever last as long as the staff member who maintains them.
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this 
at the Squadron i was a Cadet an CFAV at we must have had 3-4 different websites over that time, each time they were not working due to the āwebmasterā leaving the Squadron for whatever reason, and the ānewā one because a keen recently recruited CI or even a Cadet SNCO would give it ago.
We did have a very basic site, i forget the format it was now, but it worked so well. Was really easy to use and 50% of the CFAV team input into the content it was that simple.
I recall we had a CFAV (officer) transfer into us from elsewhere who saw it and knew he could do better - we lost a lot of historical content when his site went live and although visually more appealling was not user friendly, and once again saw one person as the owner and creator of content.
Imo all a website needs to do nowadays is offer the basics about the Squadron: where and when, how to get in touch and then links to the main Cadet website with more details on the what, the why, the how etc
There is perhaps justification for a ānewsā section offering recently notable achievements or events (although this can and often does go out of date very quickly when the most ārecentā article is over 6 months old, often more than 18 months and ends up being a negative influence as looks like the Squadron isnāt active, or at the very least donāt pay attention to the website).
Another ānice to haveā is a āwhoā section with CFAV introductions complete with mugshot, but as above can go out of date.
I donāt feel there is any need now (or indeed 15-20 year ago as it was so often seen) with every Squadron website showing the rank structure, different badges available and how they are achieved etc
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Agreed. A 3-4 page website is plenty. It is pretty easy to do with Wordpress or a site building tool like Wix.
A lot of the website projects Iāve seen, both as a volunteer and at work, have let great be the enemy of good, or even good enough / that will do for now.
That said, I was reminded of the utility of having some online presence when a parent of a potential cadet got in touch via our (dreadful but does the job) homebrew website when the RAF page was down recently.
Wordpress is what I usually recommend to people to use.
Simple enough to setup and get working and generally easy enough to build something usable
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Thereās a way to use SharePoint, but Iām not sure we have the ability to make our SharePoint sites publicly visible.
I have used RAFACās own SharePoint to make 2 squadron intranets though.
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Thereās even some fairly granular controls over who can add and edit content on WP, even āout of the boxā.
IIRC someone was doing air cadet Wordpress themes but I canāt find a link to it now.
How did you use SharePoint as an intranet?
Iām keen for something like that for my Sqn
Nudge me again at the weekend; Iāll have time to play with it again then and Iāll remind myself how I did it; itās been a while!
I might be tooting my own horn a little but 1011.sqn.ac (using @DJRice 's own hosting service sqn.ac)
Iāve found over the years that the biggest problem with Sqn websites is keeping them up-to-date with current news stories, photo gallaries etc etc, so I just didnāt bother for 1011.
Iāve tried to keep it clean and modern with some basic information for potential recruits / parents and thats it. I could do better about explaining all the different areas of our PTS and the other activities we do, but otherwise I think it does the job nicely.
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Toot away. Very, very nice.
Edit: Worked great on my phone.
Hi all,
just to let you know - Iām still doing the website hosting thing, either sqn.ac or bespoke.
Been a bit busy though these past couple of months with a new posting!
cheers,
DJ
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Good to know.
Wasnāt there talk of a Wordpress theme at some point or is my memory playing up?
A bit of a thread resurrection, but it seems to be the most recent one.
Weāve been putting a bit of work into ours over the last year, making sure we keep it up to date and training the cadets in media skills so they can start taking more ownership of the need to churn out regular articles so it doesnāt look abandoned.
Itās also now acting as a mechanism for storing heritage information etc and the parents seem to like it as an official way of keeping them updated (plus letters).
Our potential recruit list has gone through the roof too, to the point where weāre having to operate a waiting list for the first time ever, so the website with building photographs etc plus giving the odd well-timed presentation in schools seems to be doing the trick.
Any feedback from more experienced hands would be much appreciated. Always looking to improve it.
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Iād say itās worth looking at your Google Maps profile.
When I searched for 1324, it shows you as being Brough squadron and as being permanently closed (I assume due to BAE closing the airfield?)
An accurate Google Maps profile, alongside having cadets add suitable photos and reviews, we found really drives recruitment. It was partly responsible for us more than doubling our numbers within one intake, and more than trebling our staff team.
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Iām grateful to you for flagging this, as I have absolutely no idea how to rectify that.
We were fortunate in that as our new home was also lost, a local squadron that closed after the pandemic left an opening. Weāre an awkward distance from our traditional home when itās rush hour, but at least we have one!
I managed to get our address updated on the main RAFAC website, but the pin on the map is still in Brough, which Iām guessing may be linked to your point above re Google Maps?
I shall be putting this plan into action once I work it out.
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