Our org has been using Charity Advantage since about March.
It might be a good solution for some orgs, but it's turning
out not to be what we need.
For a smaller organization with no one involved who knows
how to create and maintain a website, having a webhost that
sets up your pages initially and can do hand-holding along
the way could be useful. They have an interface that can be
used by people with no HTML or more advanced knowledge, and
it's also possible to switch to direct HTML coding. You pick
one of their templates for your overall design. But if
you're expecting a lot of consulting in terms of how to plan
your content and such, that isn't part of it. Basically you
send what you want on each page, and they set it up and
format it for you initially, then you can modify it.
There are quite a few limitations and restrictions, which
have led us to start seeking a new hosting solution:
1. You can't do direct file management, so you can't easily
backup your site by downloading files, you can't work on a
file offline then upload it, you can't change file names,
etc.
2. You must use one of their templates, and combined with
their interface and not having direct file management, you
can't use something like Dreamweaver with it, at least not
in a convenient manner.
3. We tried to upload a color newsletter file, and found
that the limit on file size is 2MB. Not sure how it compares
to others, but we didn't have problems with large files on
our previous host.
4. You only get one login, so if you want several volunteers
to help with your site, you have to give each one full
access to the site and they can do whatever.
5. I've found that when switching between their design
interface and HTML mode, things that are done in one mode
can get messed up when you switch to the other. It's become
a real pain. I haven't had that problem with my personal
host.
Also a few general caveats:
1. They have already changed their "program"
several times this year, and we have nothing from them that
shows what the program was when we signed up.
2. They are now offering a lot of new things that weren't
mentioned when we signed up, and we have never heard from
them about how existing members can use them. Basically,
once our initial pages were up and running, we never heard
from them again. So the consultation and personalized
service are not that involved.
3. $33 is a lot for just webhosting, which is yet another
reason we are looking elsewhere. Not much else has really
materialized.
4. A lot of features that are readily available with other
hosts are just now getting added over time. Things such as
guest book, chat, calendar, and other modules are gradually
appearing, and there are many showing "available
soon" that for $33 a month I'd expect to already be
available.
Not to dissuade those who are considering it and might be in
a very different situation, but this is our experience. I'm
not an advanced webmaster, but I've been setting up simple
websites for 10 years with a variety of programs and setups,
and using CA hampers us more than it helps at this point.
I know another person who has had a similarly disappointing
experience (and is not in the position of having someone
knowledgeable owning the project, so she's not getting very
far). She would probably be willing to contact Laura or
anyone else who is considering using CA.
Thanks,
Heidi
Heidi Wiesenfelder | President, Board of Directors
The Hermitage Cat Shelter | www.hermitagecatshelter.org |
heidi hermitagecatshelter.org | 520-571-7839
-----original message-----
>>Just wanted to see if anyone has experience working
with CharityAdvantage (http://www.charityad
vantage.com/)? They provide templated websites...Can
anyone comment on whether they provide a credible service
for someone looking for this kind of thing, reasonably
priced at $33/month?>>
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