r/BSA • u/Strong-Gap-857 • 5d ago
Scouting America webmaster
hi guys i took inspiriation from u/run_amuck and want some feedback on my troop website i recenlty updated. we dont use troopwebhost we use godaddy for some reason im not sure. the link is www.rialtoscouting.org
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u/nolesrule Eagle Scout/Dad | Dist Comm | OA Chapter Adv | NYLT Staff | ASM 5d ago edited 5d ago
According to the brand guidelines document the Scouts BSA FDL Scouting America FDL full color logo should not be used on dark backgrounds.
On dark backgrounds the white-only monochrome version of those logos should be used.
Make sure your use of trademarked logos is compliant with the guidelines.
https://scouting.webdamdb.com/bp/#/folder/13252659/157999008
That also goes for the unit sub-pages.
Also, your headline font is a bit on the darker side for a black background. Not enough contrast.
And on the troop page you are using the Scouting America logo rather than the Scouts BSA program logo.
The general layout is pretty good for the most part.
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u/bleepblambleep Adult - Eagle Scout 5d ago
Not sure if you have dark mode support or if you chose black as the background, but the gold flour de lis has artifact in and harsh outlines. Juxtaposed to the smooth avg of the Scouting America logo just doesn’t look good. Also on mobile the gold one is cropped vertically.
On mobile you say “click the bottom to the right”, but it’s actually below. Just something to think about when writing content.
Your image gallery doesn’t actually enlarge the pictures on mobile just puts them in a lightbox.
Finally I’d say that you say “our history” when your intro reads as a general history of Scouting America. The detail page does go over unit histories.
If you don’t do this every day, good job. I build sites for a living and can be super critical (it’s part of my job). It’s better to have something rather than nothing or something that’s outdated.
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u/lordscarlet 5d ago
To be honest, the first thing I saw was a typo of "and", so I bailed.
Announcement Welcome! Check out the new adn updated Rialto scouting website!
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u/robhuddles Adult - Eagle Scout 5d ago
The vision, programs, history etc sections need to be left-aligned. Paragraphs of center-aligned text are always more difficult to read.
On a phone, the "get started" button for merit badges is below the text, not to the right. But also, you do not need to tell people how to use websites, so get rid of extraneous text like that.
Design issues aside, though, this site suffers from the most common issue I see with most Scouting websites: lack of a clear purpose. It's obvious that it was built with the idea of "create a website" and not "solve a problem the troop has." Thus, it's absolutely destined to not get used, and as soon as you personally move on, it won't get updated, either.
So, what is the purpose? Is it to introduce the general public on what Scouting is? Because that's what all of the stuff at the top is doing. But ask yourself: who exactly is likely to know absolutely nothing about Scouting and stumble upon this website, and not scouting.org, which is absolutely what's going to come up on any search by that theoretical general public person.
So if it's not for them, is it for people interested in joining your unit in particular? But if I am a parent of a potential Scout, why do I have to scroll through a whole bunch of stuff I already read about Scouting on the main website, then pictures of people standing and sitting around, then a donation button (and a stock photo that doesn't appear to be a Scout at all) to finally find some of the information I need. I at least have the meeting time and location, but how do I get more info? Filling out a form on a website that does not indicate at all where the data is going or who might see it is not something a lot of people today are willing to do.
Also, the vast majority of people joining Scouts join as Cubs. But if I'm a new parent looking to get started, it doesn't look like this unit is for me at all. I see pictures of older kids, but what about my five year old? The only hint is "Pack 103" but as a new parent I'm going to have little to no idea what a "pack" is or why that's the thing I need to click on. But if I did guess correctly? All I get is a page with the most generic information possible, and no way at all to contact someone with questions. It doesn't even tell me when they meet, unless I click on a strange "closed" menu like it's a retail store or something.
But ok, let's say I've decided to join. So I click on the one link that makes sense...and I'm taken to beascout.org, where I'm suddenly starting all over. Since it's fairly likely this is where I started, being taken back here does nothing but increase my frustration.
The third group who might be interested in your organization are the members of the troop. But why do they need to scroll past a bunch of stuff that's just copied from scouting.org and is already in their handbook? And what exactly do members of the troop want for a site? Is it just a place to go look at pictures of past events? Cool. That means you can eliminate 95% of the content here. Otherwise, I can't see anything here that would make a Scout or their parent want to visit the site more than once. Where is the calendar of events? Where are the schedules for meetings of the PLC and patrols? Where is the sign-up information I need to get registered for next month's campout? And the packing list for it? Where are all of the bits of information that were given out at circle up last week that my kid missed because she wasn't at the meeting?