Most clients seeking a Flash site (like the “Righteous Tribe” project here) need an HTML-based “mirror” of their site to accommodate not only web crawlers (which need to understand the site’s content) but also visitors using older browsers or slow Internet connections.

The goal of this project is to create a look-alike “Tribe” HTML site that pulls data from the same MySQL-fed PHP script used in the “FlashCMS” project. In layman’s terms this means that clients will get a sweet-looking Flash site and a more practical, matching HTML site, each of which are updated simultaneously through a web-based administrative console.

The music group “Righteous Tribe” hails from Uganda, Africa, where the members each individually worked for various aid-focussed NGO’s. They have each travelled the world raising funds to support organizations like AOET (www.aoet.org) and to come alongside the world’s most vulnerable people. Now, they have formed the US-based group “Righteous Tribe” to take their group to the next level and attempt to catch the eye of a record company. Although they are striking out commercially to provide a better life for their families, their commitment to the underprivileged has not waned. They still perform fundraising events and have committed themselves to raising funds for those less fortunate, regardless of how “big” they get. In the purest sense, this is not a “charity” project, as the group is not a charity, but our volunteers were willing to come alongside them and develop a site worthy of an up-and-coming music group.

The founder of “the Tribe” picked a nice-looking Flash website from a template company. This provided the foundation for the site, but updating the site required heavy knowledge of very expensive software (Adobe Flash CS3, specifically) and this did not fit our goal of putting our clients in complete control of our “creations”. So the goal of this project was to create an interface that would allow “the Tribe” to update their website through a web browser. Our volunteer (Peter) came up with the idea of the “FlashCMS” which would allow this update capability as long as the Flash template was modified to read data (blog entries, news, photos, videos, music, etc) from a PHP script fed by a MySQL database. This project required not only working knowledge of Flash, but also PHP, MySQL and JavaScript coding experience. Peter took on the entire project, leading to the creation of what we call “FlashCMS v1.0″. It is our hope that “FlashCMS” can be used to provide a Flash-based website for other clients as well.

With “v1.0″ completed, our focus turns to securing and beta-testing the application. In addition to the FlashCMS, most clients seeking a Flash site need an HTML-based “mirror” of their site to accommodate not only web crawlers (which need to understand the site’s content) but also visitors using older browsers or slow Internet connections. This need for an HTML site spawned another project which seeks to create a look-alike HTML site that pulls data from the same MySQL-fed PHP script. In layman’s terms this means that clients will get a sweet-looking Flash site and a more practical, matching HTML site, each of which are updated simultaneously through a web-based administrative console.

AOET (aoet.org) had a website that hadn’t been updated for years. The volunteer that set up the system was hard working and talented, but real life crept in and before long, AOET had no way to communicate their growth and the details of their mission to the connected world. That’s where HFC stepped in. Our first order of business was to give them a voice (quickly) within the limitations of their existing web host. Eugene pointed us towards Simple PHP blog, which was a perfect solution for portable no-frills blog software that didn’t rely on a back-end database. Before jumping in with a bit of unknown and possibly insecure software, we ran it through it’s paces. AJ Dexter performed a beginning-to-end app test of the blog software and found that it was secure enough for our use. He documented the post-login vulnerabilities he uncovered and reported them to the developer and we installed the blog as a bolt-on front-end for their existing site. AOET was thrilled to have a voice, and they began posting immediately, but the blog looked piecemeal, especially when visitors wandered beyond the blog page to the older site behind it. (See the contrast in the photos below.)

Our next goal was to take the site to the next level. That meant three things: the system needed a unified look, AOET needed to be able to update any part of the site easily, and we had to get the site moved to a more open, less restrictive server (our own). WordPress satisfied our first two requirements. Installation was a snap, but moving the old web site’s content into our server’s WordPress install would take a bit of work. Nandeyanen volunteered to do the work and moved over all the content within a couple of days (!) giving us a really nice rendition of the site in WordPress. I found and applied a decent looking theme (feather pen 10), and Blake Watson smashed many of the bugs Internet Explorer caused in the rendering of the theme. I nearly missed Blake’s email responses because his work was completed so quickly! AOET.org didn’t look half bad transferred to WordPress, but it took a few more theme adjustments and the cformsII plugin to handle the contact forms to round out the presentation.

I’ve glazed over the fact that we even had a test server. This is a Big Deal(TM), requiring not only hardware and bandwidth, but also rack space and tech support, all of which is generously donated by Malcolm Mead and Pat Myrto over at meadgroup.com (our permanent hosting partner).

We’re not done yet. Email services (Google Mail for Domains), a professional web redesign (to be applied over the WordPress backend), and an online child sponsorship system are next in the pipe, all of which will be built on the solid foundation provided by Eugene, AJ, Nandeyanen, Blake, Malcolm, Pat and all the others who volunteered their time to make this happen. Whether they meant to or not, their efforts have created a legacy that will outlive them. Because for the desperate children that find sponsors as a result of this work, it’s about more than a web site.

AOET has had a lousy site for quite a while. The original site was nice enough, but it hasn’t been maintained, and now the mail server’s getting flaky, and oh, by the way, other than the blog (that we installed!) they’ve had no way to update the site.

This is an interesting request. It’s not technically difficult, but it requires basic WordPress experience (not too hard, really) and a tad of HTML. This is going to be like data entry, or cutting and pasting, combined with a little bit of reorganization.

We’re migrating them to WordPress. Why WordPress? It’s simple to maintain, easy to use and configurable enough that they can take over complete administration with little trouble.

Right now, the main AOET site (http://aoet.org) forwards to http://aoet.org/blog, which is our simple blog. The original site, available from various links, can be seen at http://aoet.org/icomission.php. All of AOET’s info is sitting here, and I’ve started to create a WordPress site to replace it, and have even put together a site that shows a suggested organization here: <link kept private>. This site, hosted on my server temporarily, is what their new site might look like. It includes an active front-page blog, and all the info from the old site, all in one place. This would be the starting place for your work, and you could build upon that.

This work is a critical last step in getting them away from their quickly deteriorating web site and getting them onto a stable platform that will help them spread their message.

If you are interested in helping out, please email me directly at johnny@ihackcharities.org.

This is the first in a series of CFV’s aimed at the new child sponsorship system. We need someone to do a code review of Paul’s PHP-based system. A qualified volunteer will be able to review his code, making active suggestions about potential weaknesses in the code and offering alternatives. This is meant to be a learning exercise for Paul, who is currently one of our star volunteers, so “social” (email) skills are a definite plus. It’s important that our lead coder learn and grow as this project progresses to the next phase. Please drop us a line if you are interested!

Once we stage the system to the server, we’re going to break it. (I know, I know… this is work?) The system is written in PHP, accesses a MySQL database and sits on FreeBSD and Apache.  So we’re going to need code reviewers, application testers and pen testers to take a whack at our staging system. This sounds like fun, but please remember folks– we’re still doing charity work. This is no playground. This system is saving kids, and we’ve got a pair of hostile level 70 overlords keeping an eye on things , so be nice. Interested, click “Join Us” above for more info.

With Paul M slinging PHP and MySQL, the AOET child sponsorship system is really taking off! At his request though, the system needs a visual makeover. So one CFV and an hour later, Seba takes the reigns as the system’s front-end designer. Once we settle on the look and feel, we’ll move to the next phase: code review and application assessment.

Standing up Simple PHP Blog was a real no-brainer. Plus, it provided instant results, freeing AOET from the long web silence imposed on it. But slapping up a blog is the easy part. Making sure it’s not chock full of holes is a bit harder. AJ Dexter stepped in and ran an application assessment against the blog. Continue Reading »

AOET’s primary goal is to sponsor children. But their existing child sponsorship process was completely decentralized, causing a serious administrative bottleneck. Translation: more children could be sponsored with much less work. Continue Reading »

www.AOET.org hadn’t been updated in a very, very long time. So after talking with them, I realized that what they really needed was a front-page blog. Nothing fancy, just a blog that allowed image uploads and user-authenticated updates. Oh, and it couldn’t use a database, because it was transitional and the current web host made database access… difficult. So I posted a call for a programmer and a code reviewer/app tester. Two hours and multiple volunteer responses later, Continue Reading »