It is very important to have a clear understanding of what you want "your" site to be and what your unit president wants "the unit's" site to be. Compromises will have to be reached. You may have to do things that don't fit with your artistic vision. Then again, your president may leave every pixel in your capable hands. It's difficult to know which scenario is more daunting. It's best and safest to run your ideas by the president long before you become emotionally attached to them or invest much time in them.

Sketch out on paper a basic idea of your layout. Use boxes to mark where you want certain elements to be. Label the boxes. Use a pencil!

You may feel that a menu of available options should take center stage while the president may feel the current newsletter should be the most visible aspect. This is where you and your president become a team. This is where you learn to use your eraser. This is where you test your skills of persuasion.

Decide in advance what categories of information will be important not just now but three and six and eight months from now. You do not want to spend your winter break completely revamping a site that you've learned isn't working for you.

Only when you're comfortable that your layout will look as good and work as well in March as it does in September will you truly be ready to begin.