Vision

My vision for a Rayne Village Website is as follows.   However, you may have other ideas; so e-mail the Webmaster below and contribute to the discussion.

• The Rayne Village Website will be the first port of call for anybody seeking information about the village or the activities within the village.
• The Rayne Village Website should be community based, representing all aspects of Rayne.
• Rather than trying to create one large website, the Village Website would follow the internet principle of linking to websites run by local organisations, business and private individuals or families.
• All the organisations in the village should have their own website, or at least an information page on the central website.
• The content of the website to be provided by the villagers.
• This site is not intended to compete with the official Rayne Parish Council Website, but to run alongside it covering other aspects of village life.   As a statutory body the Parish Council are likely to be concerned with their own services and provision for the village.
• The site should be non-commercial in principle (see below).
• No banner adverts, 'pop-ups' or animation on the main pages.   Pages further down the hierarchy might.
• Local businesses will have entries on the website and links to their sites for users to seek information.
• To make allowance for those who don't have the latest PCs and Broadband.

Steering Committee

Although the day to day running of the website is performed by the Webmaster, the strategic direction and nature of the site is overseen by a Steering Committee.   The Steering Committee is drawn from volunteers within Rayne and there is representation from the Parish Council.  The Committee also manages the Village Computer at the Community Information Point (rear of Village Hall).  Computer and Internet help can be given to villagers by a member of the committee.

Finance

One option is to have the whole site managed by a commercial organisation, who in turn will fill the website with advertisments from any business who is willing to pay.   This leads to a cluttered website dominated by the advertising.  
I believe that the Great Notley Garden Village Website is an example of that approach.   The website for Saint Osyth is an example of a better website and some good ideas have been taken from there !

A site run by enthusiasts with the necessary skills who are willing to give their time freely could be run for as little as £50 per year (including domain name registration, hosting and phone calls).   As the site usage and size grows then this cost will rise to perhaps £70 per year.   If more complexity is required then the costs will rise accordingly.   'Free' websites nearly always carry banner advertisements to cover the costs.

It is quite possible that some local businesses may be willing to sponsor the site for £5 or £10 and only a few such sponsorships would cover the costs of a simple site.   Alternatively organisations could be charged say two pounds a year, but this may deter the spirit of joining in and would add bureaucracy to the process.

Your Website

If you live in Rayne or have business or leisure interests in Rayne then this is your website.   Now that I have started the ball rolling please add to what is there and encourage others to join in.   We can only develop a Village Site if everybody contributes.

Linking & Hosting

Add a link to your website or a page to this website - what to do -