# Technical needs When looking at a website, you need to be aware of some technical parts of the process and upkeep. If you're not very confident about this side of things, you might feel concerned about making decisions. If you're working with an external company, you can ask them to explain anything you're not sure of. Make sure you understand how you'll keep your website up to date with any changes - it will be much easier and quicker if you can fix any basic errors or add in information by yourself. ### The 'back end' of your website There are a range of different tools and platforms to help you build your website and manage your content. These are normally called a **content management system, or CMS**. For a simple site, you could use a site-building tool like [Squarespace](https://www.squarespace.com/). These tools are fairly intuitive to use and can help you quickly generate a range of layouts. However they may lack some of the publishing features and customisation you might want on a more complex site.  For medium and larger sites, [WordPress](https://wordpress.com/) is a very popular option, with over 40% of sites globally running on this platform. WordPress started as a blogging platform but has now become a very capable publishing platform capable of handling a wide range of page types. Because it is so widely used, it is easy to get external support on sites built with WordPress.  You can use Wordpress.com for a commercial, hosted setup which is fairly easy to use. Or you can use the Wordpress.org framework. This allows you to manage (and potentially save) costs a bit more, and you can customise the setup more easily than with the .com version. However, you will need more technical skills and you will be responsible for arranging your own hosting and security updates.  Other popular website publishing platforms include [Drupal](https://www.drupal.org/) and [Joomla](https://www.joomla.org/). These tools offer more customisation options and can be scaled to accommodate large amounts of traffic or complex content types. But they are more complex for site contributors and editors to work with.  ### Accessibility It’s really important to make sure your website is accessible to all users. Building in accessible design features like responsive page design and clearly-structured content will help all visitors to your website, not just people with particular accessibility needs. Website accessibility is a topic in its own right, but here are some key points:  Do: * use responsive, mobile-friendly page templates. These will easily scale to a range of screen sizes while ensuring that text remains easy to read * use responsive, mobile-friendly page templates. These will easily scale to a range of screen sizes while ensuring that text remains easy to read * have a clear navigation system with menu items accessible on a range of devices  * have clearly structured content, using heading levels and introductory text to help readers understand the structure of your pages . Don’t: * use PDFs for core content – convert it into a well-structured web page so that it is accessible without opening or downloading a PDF file  * use low contrast colour combinations, flashing content or too many images – these can make your site content hard to read. Here's some more in-depth guidance about accessibility on websites: [Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (w3.org)](https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/) [Website accessibility and usability | RNIB | RNIB](https://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/business-professionals/digital-accessibility-hub/website-accessibility-and-usability/) [Previous: User needs](/support/digital/guides/website/user-needs) [Next: Project roles](/support/digital/guides/website/project) --- ## About SCVO SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector. Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact. SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector. Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners. Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored learning opportunities. SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience. Discounts and savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org). For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)