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Sunday, December 28, 2008
Volunteers band together to upgrade Web sites of New Mexico organizations
By Amanda Schoenberg
Journal Staff Writer
Armed with technical skills and a few laptops, Web-savvy locals hope to upgrade the Web sites of New Mexico's nonprofit organizations.
The group of volunteers — a mix of Web developers, designers and entrepreneurs — launched an effort this month they call Upgrade New Mexico.
On the site upgradenm.org, the public can suggest nonprofits that could use a Web site upgrade, which could include everything from a more functional design to user-friendly language or a better functioning database. More volunteers can also join the project. The next upgrade is planned for February, says organizer Reid Givens, founder of the Albuquerque Web development company seven-gen.
Upgrade New Mexico got its start almost two years ago when volunteers spent 24 hours revamping the Web site of the New Mexico Department of Labor, now the Department of Workforce Solutions. The volunteers stepped in after reading Journal reports that the department had spent $14 million on a new system for unemployment claims, but still did not have a working Web site six years later.
According to spokesperson Carrie Moritomo, the department's unemployment claims system was finished in June 2007. The Web site now includes a few of the volunteers' suggestions to increase site usabilty, such as a feature that allows data to be saved to the next screen, she says.
More than cosmetics
For their recent project, seven volunteers spent the weekend of Dec. 6-7 redoing the Web site for First Mile, an initiative that advocates broadband access for all New Mexico residents. By that Sunday afternoon, the team was quietly sorting out last-minute bugs in a borrowed room at the University of New Mexico's ARTS Lab.
Redesigning a Web site means more than a few cosmetic changes. Web designer Emily Lewis simplified language, Givens designed a new look and Michael Bernstein, a Web development consultant, focused on the content management system. Instead of long streams of text, they added short question-and-answer sections and arrows directing the viewer to each page.
Richard Lowenberg, executive director of First Mile, says he is "really pleased" with the redesign but says it still needs fine-tuning to reflect his mission. He sees the volunteers' work as a blueprint to follow but not a final product, he says.
As Upgrade New Mexico gathers steam, Givens wants to be sure nonprofits are involved in the process.
Randy Burge, president of the New Mexico IT and Software Association, says a good Web site is essential for nonprofits to establish themselves as credible organizations. Burge, who sits on the board of several New Mexico nonprofits, says many organizations do not have the resources to maintain a site. Before getting help from Upgrade New Mexico, nonprofits should develop long-term strategies for how they want to use a Web site to its full potential, he says.
Helping nonprofits is only part of Upgrade New Mexico's mission. Lewis wants the project to showcase the local web community and prove that companies do not need to leave the state to hire talented people. "It shows the businesses out here that there are people here who are qualified to do really good work," she says.
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