Camp-Central.com

Camp Websites - The Easy Guide Part 2b

Lee — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:15:48 +0000

In Camp Websites - The Easy Guide Part 2 we looked at how to install WordPress using the cPanel control panel to use as the content management system to manage and maintain your camp website. Another popular content management system that I like and is easy to use is Joomla. Joomla offers many different options than WordPress does, and in many ways offers a camp website more features, but it can be more complicated to understand. If you are interested in creating a community based website that offers people the chance to signup and create their own profile pages inside of your website, or would like to protect parts of your website unless people signup that I would recommend you consider Joomla as your content management system.

Step 3b - Install Joomla
The easy way to install Joomla on a Linux web host with cPanel and Fantastico is similar to installing WordPress. Look for the Fantastico button on your cPanel control panel and click it.

Once you see the Fantastico screen look for the Joomla listing on the left. It should be under the Content Management section. Simply click on the Joomla listing and you will see the description and be able to install a fresh installation on your web host.

After you have installed Joomla you should be able to login and get the hang of using Joomla. In my experience the learning curve for Joomla is steeper than WordPress but it is manageable if you are willing to take the time.

If you are looking for a book to help you administrate your new Joomla installation I have heard that these two are good and they are both available from Amazon.com.

I have not read these two books myself, so if you have an opinion on either one leave a comment.

The next “Camp Websites - The Easy Guide” we will look at some options for finding free themes for either your WordPress or Joomla install to make your camp website stand out from the other camps.

Camp Websites - The Easy Guide Part 2

Lee — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:00:40 +0000

In Camp Websites - The Easy Guide Part 1 we looked at registering a domain name and getting hosting for your new camp website. Here in Part 2 we will look at how you can use WordPress as a simple content management system to get your camp website up and running in less than a day.

Step 3a - Install WordPress
If you signed up for Linux webhosting from Hostgator like we suggested in Part 1 then you will have access to two convenient features. The first is the cPanel web hosting control panel, the second is the Fantastico. Fantastico makes it easy to install several web scripts that you can use on your camp website to manage your website and add information. After you login into cPanel look for the Fantastico icon and click on it. Depending on the cPanel theme your server has it might look different, but my Hostgator cPanel Fantastico icon looks like the one in the image.

Once you have clicked the Fantastico icon you will be presented with a list of web scripts that you can install. The nice thing about installing web scripts with Fantastico is it takes care of many of the little details for you, like creating the database for the software. There can be downsides to installing scripts with Fantastico, but for now lets not worry about that. The web script you want to install is WordPress. WordPress is an easy to use weblog software. There are several reasons I recommend using WordPress as your content management system for you camp website. The first is it is easy to use for people that have never created a website before. It is also open source and free to use. Most camps are on a tight budget and saving money on your website is nice. Another bonus of WordPress being open source is it is easy to extend its functions using other free plugins.

Look for WordPress on the Fantastico page. It should be listed under Blogs. Click on WordPress. You will see an overview about WordPress.

After you have filled in all the information that Fantastico asks for it will install WordPress and you can login to your new WordPress installation and start adding content. We will look at some of the things you should change and add to WordPress to make your new camp website unique in a future post.

Another option content management system that you can use to manage your camp website is Joomla. We will look at how to install Joomla in our next Camp Websites - The Easy Guide post.

Edit: I thought I would add in a link to Amazon.com that you might find useful to help you administrator your new WordPress site.

WordPress For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Camp Websites - The Easy Guide Part 1

Lee — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:45:32 +0000

There is no doubt that the Internet has changed how camps can promote themselves. If you camp does not have a website you are missing out on a huge opportunity to reach out to your current and past campers in a whole new way. Not only could it save you money but you now have a platform that can be updated instantly with new information and updates about your programs and all your camp information. Unlike the tradition camp brochure, your camp website can reach millions of people 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can distribute your camp registration forms, health forms, offer online registrations, update campers on what to bring, recruit staff and so many more things. Think about the possibilities of how to tell people about the incredible camp programs you offer.

If your summer camp does not have a website you need to spend some serious time considering why not. The benefits of having a regularly updated website is one of the greatest promotional tools you could have. If you just don’t know where to start here is a quick guide of things you need to do to get your summer camp online. This could have you online in less than a day.

Step One - Buy a Domain Name
To be on the Internet you need to have a domain name. Your camp name would work well if it still available. I would suggest using your camp name as your domain name because that is the name your current and past campers will most likely type into the search engines to find you first. There are a number of domain name registrars on the Internet. The one I recommend using is GoDaddy. You can get a domain name quickly and the prices are good, starting at only $9.99 for a year. Try your best to get the .com if possible, but if it is already taken try for .net or .org next. Avoid .info and the other extensions. If you are in a country other than the United States it can help to get a country specific extension. in Canada for instance it would be .ca. You will have to look for a registrar that can get you a country specific extension since not all registrars can.

Step Two - Buy a Hosting Plan
The second thing you need to do to get your summer camp on the Internet is purchase a hosting plan. GoDaddy also offers web hosting and they will try to sell it to you when you purchase your domain name. I suggest you don’t purchase your hosting plan from the same company you purchase your domain name from. This is merely a personal preference but I dislike having all of my eggs in one basket.

Some of the things you should look for in a good web host is the amount of web hosting space they offer, the amount of bandwidth they offer and the type of web host control panel they supply. At this early stage you will be looking at a shared server, meaning there will be many other websites hosted on the same server as your website. Look for a web host with at least 100mb of web hosting space and at least a minimum of 2gb of bandwidth. I also highly suggest you get a web hosting plan on a Linux server, the reason why will become apparent in a later step. Also look for a web host that offers cPanel with Fantastico as the web host control panel. The reason again will become apparent in a later step. At this point just know that a cPanel web hosting control panel on a Linux server will make your life easier when it comes to installing and creating your summer camp website. The web host I recommend is Hostgator. This is the web host Camp-Central is hosted on and we have had no problems with our server at all. They also offer everything I have suggested.

Once you purchase a hosting plan you will need to go back to your domain name registrar and modify the nameservers to point the domain name at your new web host. GoDaddy offers a help article that tells you how to do it on their system.

In part 2 of the “Camp Websites - The Easy Guide” series I will talk about some of the options that are available for content management and I will walk you through installing a content management system that will allow you to add content to your new summer camp website without knowing any HTML or any programming at all. By using some free open source tools that are available you can have a great website running in a very little amount of time.

Free T-Shirts

Lee — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:00:09 +0000

Most camps have a canteen or tuck shop. They all call it something different and most camps sell camp t-shirts to campers. Here is a thought though, why are you selling the t-shirts? The greatest asset you have to promote your camp is your campers. If they had a good time they tell their friends and bring them back with them. One of the best ways for them to tell their friends is to wear it. Design a great t-shirt and instead of selling it to your campers, give it away to them. They will take it home with them, wear them and it becomes a great way for them to tell others about what a great time they had at your camp that summer.

You can still sell t-shirts in your tuck shop, because your campers parents might want them, their younger or older siblings, or they might just want two. You can also sell hoodies, sweat shirts and all of the other great camp goodies like camp DVD’s, water bottles and temporary tattoos. Giving away a free t-shirt to your campers will pay itself back in no time with your campers bringing more friends and recommending your camp to others. Give it a try, your campers will love it!

Are You Where Your Campers Are?

Lee — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:30:00 +0000

The amount of time spent online continues to increase every year and the amount of time youth are spending on websites like MySpace and Facebook continues to increase. Ask any youth over the age of 13 if they have a MySpace or Facebook account and the answer more often than not will be “Yes”.

If you want to stay in touch with you campers through out the year to encourage them to return to your camp the next summer you need to be where they are. Most social networking sites, like MySpace and Facebook allow you to create groups for people to join. These are fantastic ways to stay in touch with your campers all year long. It also gives you another avenue to promote your camp to other potential campers.

If you don’t have a MySpace or Facebook account go and get started today. It will help you to stay in touch with your campers and encourage them to return every year.

Are Your Campers Talking About You?

Lee — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:45:00 +0000

When was the last time you Googled your camp name? Did you find anything surprising? Try it and see what your campers are saying about your camp? Is it all positive? While it is not possible to control what people say about your camp online, it is possible to take part in the conversations people are having about your camp.

The number of people that have blogs increases everyday, and the number of youth and teens that have blogs, MySpace and Facebook accounts are huge. Get out there and be a part of those conversations that they are having about your camp. It can help you address the negative comments, and the positive comments can be a great boost to your ego. It could also provide you with some great quotes that you can use on your own website.

A great service to use to check out what people are saying about your camp is Google Alerts. You can enter you camp name and how often it sends you the results of the search. The result of the search can be emailed to you so whenever there is something new being said about your camp you will get an email so you can go and check it out.

News and Ideas

Lee — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:00:00 +0000

I find it hard to believe that it is already January 2008. I was hoping to have rolled out a lot of changes here at Camp-Central in the fall of 2007 but I kept running into this problem and that problem and had to make a decision whether I should scrap everything I had done so far and go with a new system or work with the original system. I choose to leave the original system and improve upon it slowly. Feel free to browse the camp directory and add your camp to our listings.

In other news I am going to start posting camp promotional ideas here at Camp-Central. They will be ways that you can use to help promote your camp both on and off the Internet. In the five years I spent as a camp program and marketing director I had a long list of ideas that I used to promote the camp I worked for. Some that worked, some that didn’t for various reasons. If you are looking for ideas on how to get your camp name out there and known then you have come to the right place.

Looking forward to a great 2008 here at Camp-Central.com.

Big Changes Coming!

Lee — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 20:50:00 +0000

We hope that everyones summer camping season is going well. Here at Camp-Central.com we have been busy behind the scenes as well. Coming in September we will be moving the current version of Camp-Central.com into a new content management system. The new system will allow us to do all of the things we have been wanting to do, with the added bonus that we will be able to get it all done much faster.

If you currently have an account here at Camp-Central.com we will do our best to move your account over to the new system.

Check back again for new updates on our progress and the new version of Camp-Central.com.

Promoting Your Camp for Free

Lee — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:50:00 +0000

One of the reasons Camp-Central.com exists is to help promote summer camps. All the staff of Camp-Central have worked in various roles at summer camp over the years and we understand that one of the primary things that camps need is help to promote themselves. By joining Camp-Central you can create a listing for your camp, including a link back to your primary website.

Plans for the future of Camp-Central include the ability to add photos of your camp, testimonials, and all types of promotional material. We want to become your camp promotion headquarters, to help you get the word out there about our camp and programs.

We hope that your summer camping seasons go well and are full of fun and excitement.

Custom Camp Search Now Available!

Lee — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 18:00:00 +0000

It has been a busy spring here at Camp-Central.com. While we are working on some of the other features we want to include in the site, we have put together an exciting new tool for you to help you find the camp that will meet you or your child’s needs.

Using the Google Co-op Custom Search Engine we have created the Camp-Central Camp Search. You can use this unique search tool in the event that we don’t have the right camp listed in our camp directory to help find the right camp for you. We have specially chosen the camp directories to be included in the search to provide you with the best possible results.

Be sure to include the Camp-Central.com Camp Search on your personalizied Google homepage: