Before you jump into building your new website, take some time to get organized.

In broad terms this means:

• Establish your goals
• Assign tasks to other leaders
• Pull together the needed information

At your next troop committee meeting, discuss how you plan to use your website.

• What should your Home Page say about your troop to the general public?
• Will you post photos and/or videos of troop events on your website?
• Can you export data from an existing system to populate your TroopWebHost site?
• Will you allow scouts to request sign off on requirements through the website and mobile app?
• Will you allow adults to request expense reimbursements through the website?
• Do you want to accept credit card payments through the website and, if so, who will pay the credit card fees?
• If you have both a girls troop and a boys troop, will they share one site or have separate sites?
• How soon do you want to have the site ready for your scouts and parents to use?

Consider creating a "technology committee" to help manage the implementation.  Invite your most tech savvy members - adults and scouts - to join.

Once you agree on your goals, it's time to assign responsibilities. Who is going to...

. . . Edit the Home Page and About Our Troop page?

. . . Enter upcoming events into the troop calendar?

. . . Upload photos and videos from recent events?

. . . Load the troop roster and keep it up to date?

. . . Record requirements earned toward merit badges and rank advancement?

. . . Maintain troop accounts and enter monetary transactions?

. . . Manage fundraisers and sales of troop merchandise to members?

. . . Track troop inventory and library materials?

. . . Set up users and assign permissions?

Now you're ready to prepare a checklist of tasks to bring your website up to speed.