Announcing the Launch of St Margarets Community Website

For a long time I have wanted to do something like this, but have always been too busy. Finally a good friend spurred me into action (not to mention some job issues) and I have built a new community website for the village I live in, St Margarets, right outside London.

Currently its sort of lost between the far larger Richmond and Twickenham, specially when it comes to our local council’s actions. However, it is a real community with a large park, excellent schools, three pubs, a wonderful high street, a train station and post office.

So I have worked with three other people on the content and built, designed and wrote nearly all of the content for the site, stmgrts.org.uk.

The site was originally nearly all Movable Type, but I started using my own little CMS for some static pages. Then the volume and dating issues around events got a little problematic, so I wrote a little application for that. Then the display of the local information directory got cumbersome, so I wrote a little application for that. Then we wanted some polls, so I did that as an application and the newsletter and finally YABB for the forum.

I think that Movable Type could have done the static and even the events and directory if I setup separate blogs for each, but that seems a little nightmarish to knit altogether.

Right now we are in beta just showing it to a select few people, but I am anxious to get the word out and see how people use it. Then perhaps a bigger launch at our fair in July.

Take a look and give me some feedback!