Building a web page for your troop or pack can provide your unit with useful tools. For content ideas, read the main section of this thesis and visit other Scouting web sites. In the meantime, here is a step by step procedure for how to get started.
The first thing you need (assuming you already have Internet access) is space to put up your web site. Your may already have space and not even realize it. Most Internet service providers (ISPs) include web space as part of their package. Check with your ISP for more information.
If your ISP doesn’t provide web space (or you don’t have an ISP), you’ll have to get space on the web. You can buy space or you can make use of free web space providers. Free service providers exchange space on their web server for advertising space on your web pages. Try it out. If you don't like it, you can always buy web space later.
The largest free web space provider is GeoCities (http://www.geocities.com/) but there are plenty of others. For a large listing, check out Yahoo!’s list at:
There are also a few sites that offer space exclusively to Scouting. These include AgentZ (http://www.agentz.com/scouts/index.html), Business Service Associates (http://www.bsa.net/), Exploring/Venturing Online (http://www.exploring.org/), the Scout’s Net (link removed), and ScoutsUSA (http://www.scoutsusa.org/).
BSA Online (http://www.Inet1.com/BSA/info.htm) offers a very unique service. You don’t even need Internet access. All you have to do is send them a floppy disk with your web site prebuilt on it. See their web page for more information.
Now that you’ve found the space you’ll need, you’re going to have to get some software. If you want to take the time to learn HTML, you can use a text editor (such as Notepad in Windows). To learn more about HTML, check out the WebSoc HTML primer (http://www.gla.ac.uk/Clubs/WebSoc/primer/).
Another option is to use your word processor. If it’s not very old (within the last two years or so), it probably has the ability to create HTML web pages. It’s not fancy but it works.
For the best web pages, you need to use an HTML editor. If you use Netscape Communicator, it comes with a simple built in program called Composer. Some versions of Windows come with FrontPage Lite. Lots of other fancier programs are available. For a pretty good list, go to:
Now you can start creating and uploading web pages. For more information on uploading, check with your ISP. Once again, for ideas on what to put on your page, please read about web sites in the main section of this thesis. You can also use the templates offered by Troop 24 (http://www.emf.net/~troop24/template/index.html). In the mean time, here are a few pointers on making your web pages a little better.
Please don’t put lots and lots of graphics on your page. Just a half dozen small graphics, including one or two animated GIFs, are plenty. For larger graphics, you’ll only want to have one. Graphics just make your page load slower. If you’ve been really impressed with some of the larger sites that have lots of graphics that all look good together, keep in mind how much time and money they spent getting that just right.
On the other hand, do put lots and lots of text on your page. After all, that’s what your visitors are there for. They want to know about your program and your opinions. The more interesting you make this, the more visitors you will get.
Most web pages start off small. After this, they’re either ignored or they grow and grow and grow. If you think your site might fall into the "growing" category, you need to keep site structure in mind.
If you want, you can put everything in the same directory but once you get over a few dozen files, things start getting pretty confusing. You’ll want to create subdirectories. Each of these will be a repository for certain portions of your work.
First, instead of spreading graphics out all across your website, you should create a subdirectory directly off of your root directory for all of your images. You can call it "art" or "images" or "graphics" or whatever suits you. Keep in mind, shorter directory names mean less typing later on.
Now that you know where to put your graphics, where do you put your HTML files? Obviously, your main thoughts belong in your root directory. As you go off on different tangents, you should create subdirectories to handle these files. Lets use a mock Council Order of the Arrow site as an example.
Your web address is http://www.mockoa.com/~lodge723/
This is also your root directory. All your main ideas will go here.
Subdirectory #1 http://www.mockoa.com/~lodge723/art/
All your graphics will go here.
Subdirectory #2 http://www.mockoa.com/~lodge723/events/
Your calendar and information on upcoming events goes here.
Subdirectory #3 http://www.mockoa.com/~lodge723/history/
A history of your Lodge will go here.
Subdirectory #4 http://www.mockoa.com/~lodge723/chapters/
Information about your chapters goes here.
Your root directory and every subdirectory should have a file called index.htm. This the first page visitors should see when entering each subject area. It should have information about the other pages in that directory.
The index.htm in your root directory is referred to as the home page, the main page for the entire site. This page should have links to everything in the root directory and to the index.htm files in each subdirectory. The subdirectory index.htm files should have links to all the files within their subdirectory. Every file on your web site should have links to the index.htm file in their subdirectory and the home page.
It’s really all pretty simple if you map it all out in advance. Haphazard growth results in a haphazard site. Visitors will notice and they will leave. Do your best and you’ll keep your visitors happy and before you know it, you’ll have a great website.
Comments, corrections, and questions should be sent by e-mail to: thesis@meritbadge.com
Last modified on Monday, May 23, 2005
