When is a Web Upgrade Not Really an Upgrade?
My point, and I do have one, is that what a web developer may consider as an upgrade may actually be a major obstacle that will impede the organization in serving its constituencies. Making a web site more "cutting edge" from a designer's point of view may not be easier, quicker or better from a user's point of view or the point of view of the staff.
Web developers should remember that the goal of a nonprofit organization's web site is to support the goals of the organization and to communicate with the nonprofits' primary constituencies on a sustainable, meaningful basis. Developers need to be conscious and respectful of not only this goal, but also, of the organization's resources: don't just dazzle with the latest technologies; build organization's capacity to use and sustain what is developed for the company long after you are gone.
Sermon over.
For a similar lament, see the Tech4Impact article "The Demise of a Terrific Web Site".
Also see "When Newer Isn't Better," from NetAction Notes.
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