Free website options come with trade-offs
Why choose to use DCN's free resources rather than other online resources, commercial or otherwise?
Click on image to zoom.
For many individuals and even some organizations, free online resources such as a website from a commercial platform can seem an obvious choice, and for lots of folks it is a great option. There are drawbacks, however, for organizations that experience turnover in volunteers responsible for things like email listserves and website updates. Passwords leave town along with that departing volunteer. A less tech savvy recruit may have trouble getting up to speed. And we have all experienced the frustration that often ensues with a call to the help desk or tech support!
Thanks
to Davis Community Network, nonprofits and community groups in Yolo
County have a distinct advantage when it comes to free online services.
Not only does DCN provide free easy-to-use websites, email listserves
and calendars; we provide classes to teach your volunteers how to use
these tools to best benefit your organization.
Can’t make a class? We have a host of online tutorials, and volunteers willing to provide one-on-one training if needed.
Lost an administrative password?
DCN can help your group reset it.
And,
by the way, our web guru was probably the guy standing in line with you
at Mishka’s this morning. All of our personnel and all of our equipment
resides right here in Davis. The free websites that DCN provides for
local organizations are hosted on DCN’s own servers. We partner with
local ISP Omsoft Technologies to provide DCN email addresses. Your
organization's calendar is seamlessly integrated with the Davis
Community Calendar to easily get the word out about your next event.
Most
importantly, the people behind DCN are your neighbors. They volunteer
their time and talents to make our community a better place.
DCN Resources |
Other Online Resources |
|
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 | $0 to thousands |
| Account ownership | Your group. DCN can help your group reset the password if necessary. | Changing the password or the owner email address without the cooperation of the original registrant may not be possible. Your organization could lose control of its account. |
| Storage | Your contents and data are stored locally on DCN servers. | The Cloud |
| Ownership of contents and data | Your group | Depends on their policy and terms which may be subject to change any time. |
| In person classes and training | Yes | No |
| Easy integration with the Davis Community Calendar | Yes | No |
| Advertisements | None | Likely |
| Local platform | Yes | No |
