Since 2007, we have provided proofreading, editing and layout for MLTF’s occasional membership newsletter, OnWatch.

In 2008 we began to work in conjunction with MLTF volunteers to redesign and update the group’s website. This will involve analyzing and organizing a large library of articles and resources, converting them to Wordpress posts and building a web site that will serve as a hub for attorneys, legal workers, GI Rights counselors and law students to access up-to-date information about military law, GI rights and related issues.

We did the photography and created a web site for Al Guay’s framing business in El Reno.

We made this site for literally no money, using Google’s free Blogger service to form a “static” business site of sorts out of a straight up blog platform. It takes some creative manipulation of link addresses to the “pages” from the front page, along with occasional post-dating of posts, but it can be done, even if you have an extremely small budget.

We used Picasa — another free service from Google — to host the rotating photo slideshow.

The photography is tricky, in that once the artwork is under glass, there’s a glare problem unless you have a controlled studio situation to compose and light the object. Aiming from an angle reduces the glare, but of course distorts the composition. So the photos are not the best showcase for the art, but then, we are more concerned with the amazingly well-made frames in this instance!

Full disclosure: Al Guay is the big brother of Net Routes’ owner.

• centerforconscience.org
• okgirightshotline.org

OCC is a community based program supported and funded by several Joy Mennonite Church, the Religious Society of Friends, Pax Christi of Eastern Oklahoma, as well as some non-religious organizations and individuals. OCC’s projects include the Oklahoma GI Rights Hotline and youth peace education.

NetRoutes developed and administers the OCC websites, produces its quarterly newsletter in print and digital formats, and also maintains its membership mailing list. We also created and maintain OCC’s Facebook pages.

Both sites are built with Wordpress.

This was another site development project that called for using free or low-cost options. The site is hosted at Google Sites, which offers an easy and moderately flexible interface for those without coding knowledge to post content. The advantage of Google Sites to other free web hosts, like Homestead and the now defunct Geocities from Yahoo!, is that, at least for now, there are no ads (unless you put them there using another Google service, AdSense.).

Photos for the site are hosted at Flickr.com, a photo sharing service owned by Yahoo! (free, with a pro upgrade option).

We set up a Flickr group where different party members can collect their photos on one page, even have a forum to discuss them. All these offsite content sources are aggregated or linked on the main site’s front page, producing a fairly comprehensive web portal for members and supporters, for not a lot of money.

Google Sites does not have an RSS feed feature, so we created one by using Dapper.net. We also helped the group create an online calendar (Google Calendar) and a Facebook presence for the main party and the Young Democrats chapter. Free, free, and free!

There’s even a Twitter hashtag.

Testimonial

Oklahoma Greens web site

Rena Guay of NetRoutes ported the original HTML design by Aaron Young to create a custom Wordpress theme. NetRoutes hosts and administers the site.