Transcript Developing Your Section - Mott Community College
DEVELOPING CONTENT FOR A USER BASED WEBSITE
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
Thinking Web
It’s the anticipation of the user need that is the key to a truly functional site, translating into time savings for MCC.
According to the Nielsen Company: As of May 2010, U.S. mobile users spent more time sending or reading e-mail on their phones than any other internet-enabled mobile activity (comprising 38.5% of mobile internet time spent). Social media was a distant second (10.7%) and reading news/current events was third (7.2%). ( CNN ) You can
increase productivity
of users, faculty and staff by providing 24/7 • • access to typical 9-5 info and procedures What info do you get the most calls about?
Point them to the web for detail and forms if appropriate • 79% of
users scan the page
instead of reading word-for-word Reading from a computer screen is 25% slower than from paper • • You can
promote the site
in your communications, such as: You can download this form at (URL) For current info, check the MCC Website at www.mcc.edu/yoururl
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Developing Your Section
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The first page is the
Index or Main Page
of any section and should provide the user with a brief overview of the content contained in that section, and services provided by that area. The elements are:
An Introduction
discussing
who
you are, and
what
services you provide Include contact,
where
: location,
when
: hours etc, in the Contact Box
Listed/linked items
of content to be found in section with description if needed
What is the most requested information in your area
?
Set these as priorities when developing your content.
Is this info easy to find on the page?
How
can a user get the most out of your area or page?
consider what action do you want the user to take? call, get forms, sign-up online, etc.
Involve all stakeholders
in developing content, support staff are often on the front line answering questions and may have a better idea of what the customer is asking for .
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Developing Copy
When developing copy
, try to limit the copy to a single frame if possible, and avoid long scrolling pages.
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A
template
to help you with this process is available at http://www.mcc.edu/wdt/Con template.dot
Using this format will help you see if content requires editing, formatting or restructuring to include more individual pages.
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Second Level Pages
are pages that contain more detail and go directly off the main • section page. Remember, users can enter the site at any page, so make sure you explain its topic without assuming the previous page has been seen.
Third Level Pages
: if longer pages are required, they should be at this level or deeper.
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Consider
links to other data sources
not within your department. Including navigation on your page to logical next steps or missteps by the user will make their web surfing experience friendly and serves the greater purpose of answering the clients questions they didn't know they had.
Think of each page as a newspaper article, the first paragraph contains an overview — the facts are filled out in the rest of the article (in this case, linked pages).
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Keywords
These are specific words or phrase that a user might be looking for.
Using them in your text
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These are words that are picked up in search engines, and should be used as text in your page. 2.
These keywords are often a good starting point or review point in considering what aspects you’re addressing in your page, and ideally used in the introduction.
Using them in “description meta-tags”
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Use description meta-tag if your page has minimal text. ie: a page which uses graphical elements like buttons where the text is part of the graphic with no actual text on the page. The “description” should be short and concise giving as much detail in first 20 to 25 words.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
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Scanability 79%
of web users scan pages, they do not read word for word Highlighting
key words
in Bold is effective, feedback for this needs to come from the provider Listed/linked or bulleted items
slow down the eye
, and give those items more attention These items should be used with good judgment, sometimes trying to make too much stand out, nothing does...
remember your priorities.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Navigation: Getting to your content
How do the users get to your information?
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Home page
, if your content is on that level
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Key User Paths:
Prospective Students, Current Students, Faculty & Staff
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Search:
as many as half web users get around by using searches This is why careful consideration of your “keywords” are important
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Highlights area:
a changing area, meant to draw attention to events and areas of interest
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Jump Menu:
the pull down menu on the home page, links to areas that might be specific destinations for users and are not otherwise represented directly on the homepage. 6.
From
another section
of the site
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Navigation: Path To Content
Navigation: Path Within Content
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Navigation: Getting around within your content
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Provide a
listing of links
on your main section page Keep in mind, linking within text can be a good tool, and informative when linked to other pages in your area, or areas of the site, if appropriate.
Local Nav
comes in when you’re on the 2nd or 3rd level page, and contains links to all of your content pages, and other areas that play into decision making, and information gathering by user. Some navigational devices will automatically be added by the web designer. For example: A new window will open when linking to a pdf or outside source. 5.
Remember to check MCC Answer center questions that relate to your content.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Navigation: Other Tips
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Become familiar with the existing
Sitemap
to help provide access to information and to avoid creating new content that may already exist in some format, such as directories, maps, etc.
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Doing an
analysis of site stats
could inform this process, if you are interested in this, please contact the Web Development Team.
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT Tone & Style
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Use a personal, informal tone. Short sentences. Bulleted copy. The section/page should provide a quick read...scanable copy.
Speak to the user
as the user — to the students as students, to faculty as faculty — Use words and phrases that are easily understood by the user.
• Make sure that
repeated references
to specific information are the same For instance “Class Schedules”, “Schedule Locator” both link to Search For Classes. Consistently using Search for Classes will be more clear.
Mission Statements
are a valuable tool for keeping your goals in mind — but won’t always communicate the information that the user needs or the services that you provide, if you’d like to post it on the site, avoid making it the introduction to a section.
Reviewing content from other institutions doing similar work, in our case other colleges, can inform the
writing
process. Using industry standard terms like Academics to categorize content will help visitors who have become accustomed to those terms.
Contact the web team for assistance with developing content or writing assistance
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT What do you do now?
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If you have content existing on the MCC website, it will be recorded in our tracking system so that we can send you an automated email notice reminding you to review and update your content.
• • If you have a
simple change
Submit it using the If your on your existing page
Page Change Order
button found at the bottom of each page
page does not have a Page Change Order
button, it may be a
pdf or data driven (dynamic)
page, reply to the page change notice with your updates and if you have extensive changes attach document with the complete approved text. Content/Drafts should be
approved
by Department Head
Please check spelling
and grammar on your revised content If you are developing new content or just getting started its best to meet with the full Web Production team. Contact one of the team members to schedule an appointment. We generally meet on Wednesday mornings, but are somewhat flexible to meet your needs. • • Do you have
time/date sensitive information
on any of your pages?
Note when this information will expire as you turn over your content We will use this as a guide to set up the tracking database that will send you reminders to review your content.
Please
provide timely response to developers
on completed work. This allows them to progress to other projects and so that they can complete the transition to the live website while all the links etc. are fresh in their mind.
Content provided
may be edited or rewritten as deemed necessary by the WDT
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
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WDT Resources
• A variety of information is available to you online at
www.mcc.edu/wdt/wdt_index.shtml
current content includes: WDT Calendar: The current schedule of meetings, workshops and agendas WDT Contact List: A complete listing of all the members of the WDT, Advisors and Content Providers.
WDT Links: An evolving list of resources Content Development: This PowerPoint Presentation and a MS Word Template is available for download Content Flow Chart PDF: Visual Flow Chart of the Development Process