library website hosting

Wed Sep 24 12:59:35 EDT 2014

Thank you for your feedback, Cynthia.

We were unenthusiastic about the WordPress templates we were told we had to use to develop the library website when this new college website was debuted five or six years ago. At that time the impression we had from our IT department was that this was all we could work with, i.e., they could not support a custom template just for the library. 

>From what campus IT now appears to be telling us, they will work with us on a custom template, so this is something we must consider and may ultimately be our only option if we are not given IT and administrative permission to choose another option such as a hosted website with Joomla or Drupal or LibGuides. 

I appreciate your feedback as well as everyone else's because it is given us much to think about as we weigh and consider our options. 

Thanks again,
Shannon

-----Original Message-----
From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Cynthia Ng
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 11:41 AM
To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
Subject: Re: [WEB4LIB] library website hosting

I have to say, if you can get your own "site" within the college's WP network, it may not always allow for a lot of customization, but will save you a lot of time in terms of maintenance, processing of payments, etc. especially if you have a supportive IT department.

I've done sites within campus network and set up a network just for the library before. Trust me when I say if the website is only a small part of the job, it's definitely worth it to let someone else do all the network level work. They probably also have a template/theme set up if your college has branding guidelines and such.

If you do decide to go on your own, one thing you might want to look at is how often / current the backend (databases, etc.) are updated at the host you're interested in, and if they have a 1-click installer for the CMS you want (which is common for popular CMSs) to make your life easier.

We've had pretty good experiences with dreamhost.

On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 8:23 AM, Haitz, Lisa (haitzlm) <haitzlm at ucmail.uc.edu> wrote:
> We use it for our Archives Library to do exhibits- each exhibit is a “site”.
> Good Luck!
>
>
>
> From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] 
> On Behalf Of Shannon E. Fox
> Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2014 11:20 AM
>
>
> To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Subject: Re: [WEB4LIB] library website hosting
>
>
>
> Yes, they would support that and work with us on that, so that is one 
> of the options we have to consider and in the end, may have to go 
> with…
>
>
>
> From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] 
> On Behalf Of Haitz, Lisa (haitzlm)
> Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 6:28 PM
> To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Subject: Re: [WEB4LIB] library website hosting
>
>
>
> Would your institution support Wordpress multi-year site? You could 
> have your own "site" within that install. Just a thought.
>
>
>
> On September 23, 2014, at 5:54PM, "Shannon E. Fox" wrote:
>
> Thank you Cary.
>
>
>
> You’re right in that our current site is static and DreamWeaver 
> authored. We are ready for a modern, dynamic site. Our campus IT 
> cannot support another CMS. They have offered to work with us on 
> incorporating our library site into the main campus 
> WordPress-driven/CMS website. We are less enthusiastic about that 
> option and hence are exploring alternatives. We are interested in 
> Joomla and Drupal. We’ve had a few suggestions now of LibGuides that also sounds promising.
>
>
>
> Shannon
>
>
>
> From: Web technologies in libraries [mailto:WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU] 
> On Behalf Of Cary Gordon
> Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 4:46 PM
> To: WEB4LIB at LISTSERV.ND.EDU
> Subject: Re: [WEB4LIB] library website hosting
>
>
>
> The answer really depends on the website, and your plans for it.
>
>
>
> Your current site appears to be static and generated by Dreamweaver. 
> It is likely pretty low on the neediness scale and could be placed on 
> any reliable host. Hostgator is one of those.
>
>
>
> If you move to a CMS — I see that your institution is using Wordpress 
> — you move to a higher level of neediness. You need an application 
> platform — PHP for Wordpress, a database hosted on a database server, 
> and perhaps most importantly, someone to pay attention to security and 
> update the software and servers, when necessary. Commodity hosts like 
> the ones you mentioned should have no problem meeting the technical 
> requirements for a small Wordpress or Drupal site.
>
>
>
> What they don't offer, generally, is site-specific application maintenance.
> In other words, they might update the database software, the web 
> server software and the server software, but they probably won't 
> update the service software, because that might bring down your site. 
> This is why companies like Lishost (and mine) are worth looking at, if you are going to run a CMS.
>
>
>
> Cherry Hill — MPOW — is a full service Drupal shop, and we do all of 
> the maintenance, monitoring and backups for our clients. Most of our 
> hosting customers have our basic package, which at $900/year including 
> all you can ask support, would likely be overkill for you, but it frees them from worry.
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Cary
>
>
>
> On Sep 23, 2014, at 1:05 PM, Shannon E. Fox <sfox at AUSTINCOLLEGE.EDU> wrote:
>
>
>
> If you are using a web hosting service for your library website, would 
> you be willing to contact me off-list to share your experience and 
> advice? I see that there are a number of options to choose from, such 
> as HostGator, BlueHost, iPage, etc. that appear to be well rated and I 
> want to select what is suitable for our small site as an academic 
> library affiliated with a small, private, undergraduate college. It 
> can’t be too costly and I am the only one at our library who creates and maintains our web presence.
>
>
>
> I appreciate any advice you can offer.
>
>
>
> Shannon Fox-Teichmann
>
> Coordinator of Electronic Services & Collections
>
>
>
> 900 N. Grand Avenue, Suite 6L
>
> Sherman, TX  75090-4400
>
> Phone 903.813.2559 Cell 903.267.2424
>
> http://abell.austincollege.edu/abell
>
> sfox at austincollege.edu
>
>
>
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