Hosting of USCG Auxiliary websites are provided free of charge to all units in the Auxiliary. This service is managed through the USCGA IT Department in coordination with the CS District Staff Officer (DSO-CS). All website related requests must be forwarded to your DSO-CS.

There are limits on the amount of space allocated to a website. Flotilla websites are given 15MB of server space, whereas Division websites are given 20MB and District websites 25MB. This is not a lot of space relative to what you might get from a commercial hosting company, but it should be sufficient to provide the intended use. With this in mind you need to manage the size of your graphic images and documents as these tend to take the most space.

The USCGA IT department has developed a set of guidelines and policies which describes the various processes we are to follow. All CS officers should be familiar with these guidelines as they directly impact your ability to successfully perform your duty as a webmaster. Remember, your website is not just for use within the Auxiliary. The public also has access to view its contents and you want this virtual image of your Auxiliary represented in the most professional manner.

For security reasons limitations have been placed on the USCGA server resources available to webmasters. In general this means that all your web code should be done in HTML and JavaScript. Other web development languages are not supported at this time. Database technologies such as MySQL is also not supported. However, you can link to non-USCGA resources that support these technologies providing the web pages using these resources are dedicated to USCGA activity (no pop-ups or ads).

Although everyone is encouraged to host their website on an Auxiliary web server it is not mandatory that you do. There are existing Auxiliary websites currently hosted on commercial servers. However, there is either a cost associated with this service or the service is free but you must allow for the advertisement of non-USCGA related material. If you are contemplating creating a new website it is recommended that you use the free hosting services offered by the Auxiliary. If you already have a website hosted by a commercial hosting company it can easily be moved over to one of the Auxiliary web servers.

To take advantage of the free web hosting services offered by the Auxiliary you simply contact your DSO-CS. For additional details refer to the topic Requesting space to host my website. Once space has been allocated your DSO-CS will provide you with the URL and login access to the site. It is now up to you to design, code and test your website to ensure it complies to USCGA Internet website policy. See the topic on Designing my website for technical help and available website templates. When you are satisfy that your site is working as designed contact your DSO-CS and request a review and submission to the National team for approval. See the topic on Obtaining website approval for more details.

The Process

1. Determine who will be the webmaster for the site and obtain written (email) approval from your FC or DCP for creation of a website (you'll need to forward this email to your DSO-CS)
2. Request space for your website - send a note to your DSO-CS with approval email and webmaster information
3. When space has been assigned your DSO-CS will provide you the website URL, login user name and password.
4. Review the CS Guide along with the USCG Auxiliary Internet policy
5. Design, develop and test your site (website templates are available and are easy to use)
6. When your site is completed notify your DSO-CS for review and compliance to Internet policy and guidelines
7. If approved by your DSO-CS it is forwarded to the National Web team for final approval
8. If approved by the National team your site will be listed in the Flotilla Finder website and on the National server of approved sites. you will also be sent an "Approved" logo which you can display on your site

The USCGA National Web team provides free web hosting to all units in the Auxiliary. To request space for your website send an email to your DSO-CS with the following information:

1. Have your Flotilla Commander (Flotilla website) or Division Captain (Division website) send an email to the DSO-CS indicating his/her approval to create this site
2. Send an email to your DSO-CS and include the following:
   • A statement requesting website space
   • The name, home address, email address and phone number of the site webmaster
   • The name, home address, email address and phone number of the contact person (may be the same as the webmaster)
   • The name of your unit
   • Your unit identification (District, Division, Flotilla - for example 05407 or 0540702)

To get your site listed on these websites it must first be approved by the National Web team. The approval process includes a review of your website by your DSO-CS and submission to the National Web team for final review and approval. These reviews are designed to ensure your site is in compliance with USCGA Internet Website policy. Please ensure you review the Auxiliary Internet Site Checklist before requesting a review of your site. If you have any questions or concerns please discuss with your DSO-CS.

To request a site review send an email to your DSO-CS and include the following:

• A statement requesting a review of your site
• The name, home address, email address and phone number of the site webmaster
• The name, home address, email address and phone number of the contact person (may be the same as the webmaster)
• The name of your unit
• The URL of your site

If your site is not in compliance with the USCGA Internet policy you will receive an email from your DSO-CS indicating what needs to be fixed. You should make the necessary changes and resubmit your request. Once approved by your DSO-CS it is then submitted to the National Web team. If it is rejected by the National Web team you will be notified by your DSO-CS what needs to be fixed. This can sometimes be an iterative process which can be minimized by first reviewing the Internet Site Checklist mentioned above.

You may check on the approval status of your site here. Once your site is approved by the National Web team it will be listed in the National Unit website and in the Flotilla Finder website tool. You will also receive an approved logo from your DSO-CS which you can display on your site.

Listed below are some items which are closely looked at during the review process. This list is not in lieu of the Auxiliary Internet Checklist but is shown here to highlight areas which you might want to pay close attention to.

• The <title> tag on all html pages should clearly identify the Auxiliary unit. It should look something like this:
  

  <title>US Coast Guard Auxiliary, 5th Southern District, Division X, Flotilla Y, Serving <your_area> </title>

• All graphic images must have ALT text defined in the html code. The text should briefly describe the image.
• The home page must have either the US Coast Guard Auxiliary banner or the equivalent words shown at the top.
• There must be a link on the home page to a Privacy Statement
• Links to or from other Internet sites must support a legitimate business purpose
• No ads, pop-ups or banners advertising non-USCG Auxiliary activity

   

Creating a website can be a challenging and time consuming task for both the novice and expert. This should be a fun job and not one that drive you crazy. Realizing that we all come from various backgrounds of expertise, some of us will be more skilled than others. To help you get your site up and running in the shortest time possible the National Web team created several website templates which you may find useful. You are not required to use these templates but they do give you a running start with several designs to choose from.

These templates are available from the AUX-04 Technical School and can be downloaded and installed on your PC with the minimum of effort. The template files are compressed into a single zip file so instructions are provided on how to unzip and install these files. Also included are instructions for working with the templates in Frontpage 2003.

A variety of training sources are available in the Web technology area. With a little time and the basic web development skills you can expand your knowledge in many IT areas. You should find the following resources helpful in your quest to be a more skillful webmaster.

• USCGA How to Library
• HTML Primer
• Frontpage 2003 training from Microsoft
• USCGA CS Officers Guide
• Bits & Bytes