LionNet encourages all Lions Clubs to have a presence on the Internet. To that end we offer these guidlines to those who may feel they haven't the experience or know-how necessary to create their club's web page. Sure you can !
Our Prototype Lions Club page is available either as a guide or to use as your first page - it's ready to go as soon as you substitute in your own club's information and move it to your own server. Here's how you would create such a page.
First - organize the page by sections. What do you want to include ? The minimum sections would be club name and Lions logo, meeting time and place, officers and how to contact them, and a link that allows response to the webmaster. The prototype page also includes a notice that it's under construction. Most pages remain under construction all the time but if you have sections with incomplete information, it tells the visitor you're working on this and that more will be added. When you feel that your page is reasonably complete, you would probably remove the construction notice.
Here's how the section organization would look for the prototype page (annotation is in italicized red)::
<!-- page set-up and formatting -->
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Prototype Lions Club Homepage</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY TEXT="#800080" BGCOLOR="#FFFF80" LINK="#800080"
VLINK="#800080" ALINK="#800080">
Text and color information were entered by the HTML editor used to create the page. Front Page from Microsoft and Netscape Gold will automatically enter codes as you visually select color and font. You can also find a page you like, download it so you can view it in Notepad and use copy and paste to duplicate the effects.
<!-- title with Lions logo and under construction graphic -->
<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><B><FONT
SIZE=+4>Federation City Lions Club</FONT></B></H1>
<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/org/charity/lions/lions5c.gif"
HEIGHT=189 WIDTH=215><BR> <BR>
<B><FONT SIZE=-1>Pardon our appearance ... <IMG
SRC="undercon.gif" HEIGHT=38 IDTH=40>
we're still building this site !</FONT></B></P></CENTER>
Graphics can be sized to your preference. If you download graphics from clipart files or other Lions Clubs, you may adjust their size to fit your page.
<!-- section on meeting information -->
<P> <HR WIDTH="60%"></P>
The above is a standard horizontal rule adjusted to 60% of full page width. It is helpful, both to you and to page visitors, if the sections are separated by a simple graphic. Usually you will use the same graphic between all sections. On this page we have chosen to use the same horizontal rule, but at 100%, before the closing section.
<UL> <DT><B><U><FONT
SIZE=+1>Meetings:</FONT></U></B></DT>
</UL><UL> <UL>
<LI><FONT SIZE=+1><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">When:</FONT></B>
2nd & 4th Wednesday - 18:30</FONT> <BR></LI>
<LI><FONT SIZE=+1><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">Where:</FONT></B>
Starfleet Academy Lounge</FONT></LI> </UL> </UL>
If it doesn't involve excessive download time, it is very nice to include a simple map to your meeting site.
<!-- section on officers and contact information -->
<P> <HR WIDTH="60%"></P>
<UL> <DT><B><FONT SIZE=+1>Officers:</FONT></B></DT>
</UL><UL> <UL>
<LI><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">King Lion:</FONT><FONT
COLOR="#800080"> James T. Kirk <FONT SIZE=-1>home: xxx-xxxx; office:
xxx-xxxx; e-mail: tiberius@roddenbury.com</FONT></FONT></B></LI>
<LI><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">1st Vice President:
</FONT><FONT COLOR="#800080">Spock <FONT SIZE=-1>home:
xxx-xxxx; office: xxx-xxxx; e-mail: fascinating@vulcan.org</FONT></FONT></B></LI>
<LI><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">Secretary: </FONT><FONT
COLOR="#800080">Nyota Uhura <FONT SIZE=-1>home: xxx-xxxx;
office: xxx-xxxx; e-mail: hailing@frequency.net</FONT></FONT></B></LI>
<LI><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">Treasurer: </FONT><FONT
COLOR="#800080">Montgomery Scott <FONT SIZE=-1>home:
xxx-xxxx; office: xxx-xxxx; e-mail: scotty@engines.com</FONT></FONT></B></LI>
<LI><B><FONT COLOR="#C86400">Membership Chairman:</FONT><FONT
COLOR="#800080">Hikaru Sulu <FONT SIZE=-1>home: xxx-xxxx;
office: xxx-xxxx; e-mail: helm@excelsior.net</FONT></FONT></B></LI>
</UL>
If you're using the prototype to make your page, you would here substitute the names and contact information of your officers, changing or deleting titles as necessary. If you need to add lines, use copy and paste and then substitute the pertinent data.
<!-- section on links -->
<P><HR WIDTH="60%"></P> <DT><B><FONT SIZE=+1>Links:</FONT></B></DT> <UL>
<!-- first level LionNet link - to State/Province/District clubs - for any club served by a LionNet node -->
<P><IMG SRC="lionnet_logo-small.gif" HEIGHT=22 WIDTH=102 ALIGN=ABSBOTTOM><B> <U>State/Province/District</U></B> <B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE=-1>(for links to Xxxxxxxxx Lions Clubs on-line)</FONT></FONT></B></P>
This link would probably appear on every club in a LionNet node area. You would substitute in the name of the node for your area instead of "State/Province/District". The parenthetical description is optional but again you would replace the "Xxxxxxxxx" with your region's name. If you're not in a LionNet node area, please see What Is LionNet? at the LionNet International site and consider becoming one yourself !
<!-- intermediate LionNet link if appropriate - OPTIONAL -->
<P><IMG SRC="lionnet_logo-small.gif" HEIGHT=28 WIDTH=128 ALIGN=ABSBOTTOM><B><FONT SIZE=+1> <U>National</U></FONT></B> <B><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE=-1>(for national LionNet nodes)</FONT></FONT></B></P>
<!-- link to LionNet International - OPTIONAL -->
<P><A HREF="http://www.lionnet.com"><IMG SRC="lionnet_logo-small.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=37 WIDTH=170 ALIGN=ABSBOTTOM></A><B><FONT SIZE=+2> <A HREF="http://www.lionnet.com">International</A> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT SIZE=-1>(linking on-line Lions Clubs world-wide)</FONT></FONT></B></P>
Local clubs often list other area clubs on-line and a link to the first level LionNet node. That node in turn lists the next level up and so on. Using this guidline helps keep pages from being cluttered or confusing. If you prefer to list all the LionNet links, it is suggested that you use the graduated sizes to clarify your structure.
<!-- link to LCI - on main page or links page for all clubs -->
<P><A HREF="http://www.lionsclubs.org"><IMG
SRC="lionlogo.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=79 WIDTH=90 ALIGN=ABSCENTER></A><B><FONT
SIZE=+1><A HREF="http://www.lionsclubs.org">Lions Clubs
International</A> </FONT><FONT COLOR="#FF0000"><FONT
SIZE=-1>(Lions headquarters)</FONT></FONT></B></P>
</UL> </UL>
There is a variety of Lions logos available. Since you are an official Lions organization, you are entitled to download and use any that you see on other Lions pages. See also the LionNet Finland ftp download site for a representative sampling of Lions logos.
<!--- closing section with e-mail to webmaster --->
<P>
<HR WIDTH="100%"></P> <CENTER><P><IMG
SRC="flag_array.gif" HEIGHT=140 WIDTH=291></P></CENTER>
<!-- a graphic might be placed before the text - both would include a mailto link -->
<CENTER><P><B><U><FONT
SIZE=-1>We welcome your questions and comments</FONT></U></B></P></CENTER>
</BODY>
</HTML>
<!--- end of page --->
Graphics for e-mail links can be found atnumerous clipart sites and are usually free for personal or non-profit use. Your link for e-mail would be set up like this <A HREF="mailto:name@server.ext">.
As you work on your page, you might want to ask for advice or suggestions as you try out different ideas. Please feel free to contact the LionNet NodeMaster in your area; it is part of the LionNet mandate to encourage and assist Lions Clubs to join the Internet.
If you are not in a LionNet area, we urge you again to read more about it (What I LionNet?) and consider becoming a node yourself. Please contact a LionNet site administrator for advice and information.
Finally, here are some general things to keep in mind when starting a club homepage: