Next steps to upgrade

Here are the next steps to prepare your website for it’s latest redesign.

Our new websites are designed and structured around the content (the information currently present on the site) as opposed to selecting a design and adapting content around. Once the content needs are assessed, the design is tailored to accommodate that and future content needs for your department/program. Thus, it’s very important to ensure that all site content (text/information) is up to date. Aesthetics will be addressed later on during the redesign.

Checklist

1. Complete a content (text/information) inventory

Effectively, this means reviewing every page on your site to evaluate the following:

  • Is it relevant?
  • Is it up to date?
  • Can and/or should it be moved elsewhere (i.e. combine pages, sections)?
  • Is this something that we can link to another site for, i.e wayne.edu/apply, or do we need to have our own page for it?

This step cannot be overstated as we do not want to create a design that’s based on outdated content and would need major revisions before launch or immediately after launch.

As with any undertaking, we need to ensure that we’re working with the most accurate information before we commit to a general direction.

Next steps

  • Disable (not delete) pages with content that is no longer needed
  • If there’s a small amount of information on a page, e.g. one sentence or link, consider if it can be combined with another page (sometimes it can’t)
  • Do not reorganize the menu navigation as this will be revised with your input design the process
  • Do not update URLs (this will also take place on the new site)
  • Do not delete non-time sensitive news articles or spotlights – these should be retained for historical purposes
  • Keep in mind that your current site still has to serve students/faculty/staff/public until the upgrade and should make sense for its current environment

If you’re unsure about anything, just make a note of it or let us know and we’ll decipher the best arrangement later.

2. Content clean-up

Once you’ve assessed all of the content that will be retained and/or eliminated, take a closer look at what’s there to ensure that it meets the following criteria and perform these next steps.

  • Short and sweet, need-to-know
    • Can a student/faculty/staff/public find the information they need easily? Can they scan the page for it or is it buried at the bottom? Is the tone light or dense? Less is more when possible
  • Does the page need a call to action?
    • For example, if it’s a scholarship page, are the application steps provided? How can someone take action on the information listed on that page? If the page instructs them to register or contact an advisor, is there a link to resource supporting that?
  • If the page is simply for informational purposes, no call to action is needed

Next steps

  • Shorten unnecessary page content where appropriate. Remember, less is more
  • Update all broken links to their correct destination, i.e. pipeline.wayne.edu > a.wayne.edu
  • Documents that currently exist as PDFs should be converted to web pages, with the exception of handbooks and hand signature forms. In most cases, this will include the departmental bylaws for example
  • Do not dedicate significant time to updating photography that’s not necessary for the interim period. For example, an inaccurate photo should be updated immediately. However, replacing all of the faculty photos on a page should not be a priority for the current site during this content clean-up
  • Do not delete non-time sensitive news articles or spotlights. Time-sensitive posts, i.e. scholarship deadline, lecture talk, etc. can be removed. Media mentions, work by students and faculty should be preserved regardless of their date

3. Start collecting images

As you’re cruising along with the content inventory and clean-up process, start to make note of and gather images for your new site. The new website has many areas to feature image content that showcases your department.

Please note that low-resolution photos (small in size) or low-quality (blurry, grainy, etc.) will not be eligible for promotion on the site. A good size to target when curating your images is 1600 px and above.

Next steps

  • Collect photos that represent your department
    • These can be from events, in class, off-campus, and more. You may even want to send a department-wide email asking faculty and staff to contribute from their personal collections
  • Gather photos into a OneDrive that can be shared with our Marketing Team for placement around the site

Framework

Certain elements are now standard across every CLAS department or program to help us present a consistent viewing expience across the college. See the Department of Public Health website for an example of this new setup.

Degree programs

Academic programs will be standardized with our new Academic Program Layout using the existing information on the current departmental site. This layout includes some elements that will not apply to all programs in terms of how they are presented on the website.

Questions?

Drop us a note at clas@wayne.edu and let us know how we can be of assistance.