Websites for FIRST Robotics Teams

Chris Elston - Team 1501

Getting Back to the Basics

• Form a team• Browse other team

websites• Develop a purpose and

goals• Review FIRST

documentation

What FIRST Says

– Content (25 points)– Does the website clearly tell the team story

and articulate their mission?– Does the website include recognition of

sponsors and volunteers?– How well does the site explain FIRST and

promote its vision?– Does the website include helpful resources

for other FIRST teams?– Does the website contain interesting non-

text content such as music, sound, animation, or video?

What FIRST Says

– Structure and Navigation (25 points)– Is it easy to navigate through the site?– Does it have HTML links that provide easy

access to external content?– Is important information easily accessible?– Is there a prominent link to the FIRST

website?– Do links open new, separate browser

windows?

What FIRST Says

– Visual Design (25 points)– Does the website communicate a visual

experience reflective of the team identity?– Is the site engaging and does it encourage

exploration?– Does the site use color and iconography in

a consistent way?– Does the website homepage use the official

FIRST logo?– Does the website include photos of the

team participants, volunteers, and sponsors?

What FIRST Says

– Functionality and Interactivity (25 points)

– Does the site work well?– Does the homepage load quickly?– Do the links work throughout the site?– Does it take into consideration those with

diverse user requirements including file sizes, file formats, special access needs, (i.e., alt tags for images), and download speeds?

– Are there effective opportunities for a visitor to interact with the website?

Budget

• Present a budget to your team

1. Domain name registration This is paid once a year. Generally cost $10.00 for the whole year.

2. Hosting Account This can be paid monthly, six month or a year at a time. Budget about $15.00 per month for this service or about $180 for the whole year. Of course some of the hosting can be as low as $5.00 per month.

3. Extra software I would budget about another $100 in start up software that we may or may not use.

Take Action!

• Brainstorm several domains

• Register your domain• Decide on a host

– http://www.hostrocket.com = cost $5.00 a month http://www.ipower.com = cost about $10.00 a month

• Linux or Windows based

Site Design

• Define a Site Map

Software Tools

• Open Source Free Software– NVU (WYSIWYG site editor)– Trellian Webpage (WYSIWYG page

editor)– Notepad ++ (hard coder editor)– Gimp for Windows (Graphics)– FileZilla (FTP Client)– Putty (Linux people, Telnet, SSH)– Audacity (Sound editor)

Software Tools

• Commercial Software– Dreamweaver (WYSIWYG site

editor)– Adobe Photoshop (Graphics)– Sony Vegas (Video editing)

Software Tools

• Advanced– PHP– MySQL– www.hotscripts.com

Questions?

If you have a thumb drive, come see me and I can copy all my notes and open source software I spoke of in my presentation. 36 MB required

RAFFLE

TIME!