Summary
The launch of the new _____________ website is only the beginning of an ongoing process. What is even more critical than the design and new site features is the ongoing maintenance and communications work needed to keep a site current.
This plan should be a starting roadmap for using the updated website. Keeping content fresh and tied to your communications goals is essential, and so is reviewing and measuring results.
Communications Goals
For this first draft of the plan, we've identified several communications goals. These are only a beginning point, and should be updated and crafted to include current communications targets, reviewed on an annual basis:
- Turn the website into a stronger recruiting tool for new faculty
- Showcase our world-class facilities to prospective students
- Encourage alumni to attend department events
Wireframe and Content Plan
This list of tactics identifies key features of the website, and outlines how they can be used to address the identified communications goals.
Site Title
The title of your site should be the full name of your unit or department..
Main Navigation
Your site’s main navigation contains its overall structure. All of the pages of your site should contain this navigation except for any groups that have their own menu. Any top level menu should never exceed seven links, with five or six being ideal. The main navigation should never wrap to more than one line. The number of links in a menu dropdown should not exceed 7 items. Avoid sub-sub items at all costs. These are difficult to navigate and frustrating to use.
Don’t add temporary items to the navigation. Use a stylized block on the front page instead. Your navigation should change only rarely, and be wary of navigation growth. Simpler, cleaner navigation is much easier to use.
Boilerplate content
The home page and each of the key landing pages should begin with a short introductory paragraph referred to as "boilerplate content." It is important to think of the audience on these key pages as those first-time visitors who will need orientation to that specific page.
Boilerplate content should be reviewed and updated annually. Having accurate boilerplate text is critical for reaching first time audiences as well as for search engine optimization.
Stories
A card layout of the latest 5 stories is available to display on any page of your site, but we recommend using your homepage.
Choosing high quality images of your stories is critical. You will visually communicate the identity of your unit via the selected images. This also allows you to change the main identity element on your home page to address seasonal changes, major events and new people.
Stories that have run their course will reside on the "All Stories" page in a permanent archive. Old stories can be resurfaced to the home page rotation as needed to highlight specific events or initiatives that occur seasonally or annually.
There are several benefits of using a story image as the defining visual of your home page. First, you are not tied to specific images that can age over time and need refreshing. Since new stories will continuously be added to the rotation, your home page will always depict current students and recent research. The home page will always remain fresh.
And you can change your homepage imagery as your communications goals evolve. You will never be tied to a specific set of images. You can vary the stories related to events and recruiting cycles and respond to news and current happenings.
Number of stories
The number of feature stories in the rotation should be between four and six. At least one story representing each of the outlined communications goals should be in the rotation at all times.
Frequency
Stories should be updated monthly, with at least one new story added every month, and another retired from the rotation. For busier cycles, two or more features could be added per month.
Stories Photography
Story photos are the key identity element on the website. The quality of these images will represent the entire college. Snapshots, awkwardly posed photos "grip and grin" style images should be avoided at all costs.
Only single photos should be used in the feature photo space on the home page: no collages, photos overlaid with text or charts or diagrams should be used. The photos should fill the entire space allotted. The caption space beside the image should be limited to three lines and should be stripped of any formatting so that it follows the default styles. Low-resolution or smaller images should not be expanded to fill the space as they will appear blurry.
When new images are needed, work with a strong photographer and follow the brand photography style. Dedicating an annual photo budget will help with your planning and ensure you maintain a high level of imagery in this space.
Marketing your stories
Develop a checklist of tasks around each story that appears on the homepage. Tasks should include sending the link to the story to the story's subject. If the subject is a faculty member, include department heads, former colleagues, professional associates and even key undergraduate or graduate students. Ask the subject to share the story with his or her personal network, including their email lists and social networks. Suggest that they include any former mentors or advisors, or perhaps feeder programs around the country that produce promising recruits for programs.
Use social networks. Also submit stories to appropriate trade publications, blogs and forums relevant to the subject. Find out what blogs or sites the subject reads, and try posting references to the stories there as well.
News Feed
Use this section for news and updates. Unlike stories, these items don’t need to have strong photographs. More time-related links like:
- awards announcements
- news clips
- new faculty
- special events
News items can change daily. You can import news from the News and Research Communications Office feeds or start your own. You should not allow items to get old. Old news will make your whole site feel dated.
Events
Create your own organization in the main OSU calendar to display a feed of your events. If there are no calendar items upcoming, the feed will appear blank. Be careful to keep events queued up. Having empty space here will send the message that your unit is not involved in many activities.
Site Footer
Use this space for your general contact information, including the name of your department/unit, physical address, telephone number and contact information. Depending on your unit’s need, you may include a secondary menu for internal audiences in this section.
Metrics
Measurement is the only way to determine progress or success of your web communications effort. Use Google Analytics to assess the volume of traffic to key pages. Use questionnaires and discussion groups to determine the effectiveness of site content.
Key stats to measure include number of visits to stories and the average length of time on those pages. Track each story for its entire run in the home page rotation, and keep track of which stories draw the most attention.
You may also decide that other specific sites or pages should be tracked. Monitor traffic and tie it back to the source, such as stories, print or online advertising or promotion on social networks. Site traffic can be compared to other metrics, such as number of applications or levels of enrollment.
Questionnaires can be shared with incoming students or newly hired faculty. It is best to format questions on the five-point Likert Scale (strongly disagree - strongly agree). OSU provides access to Qualtrics for any survey needs.
Possible questions to ask include:
- The website content influenced my decision to apply
- The imagery and content in the site represent my interests and my reasons for attending the program
- The website is a professional representation of the unit
- The stories on the home page are effective and interesting
- I always find new and interesting stories when visiting the home page
- The events calendar helps me to find important activities
Web traffic should be monitored quarterly. Assessments should be conducted annually.
Tactics
- Monthly
- Update feature stories; maintain queue of 2 to 5
- Market each new story as it's released by distributing to subjects, personal networks, journals and social networks
- Track traffic for retired stories
- Ensure the calendar feed has enough entries to display at least four events for the next 60 days.
- Quarterly
- Study traffic to key landing pages and sites. Relate measures to ongoing marketing events or initiatives.
- Every 6 months
- Conduct informal focus groups or discussions to determine effectiveness of homepage content and generate ideas for new content.
- Review the entire site, including program pages, to identify areas for improvement, refinement and enhancement; examine language, organization and imagery; note problem pages and schedule them for review and updating.
- Yearly
- Review and update marketing and communications goals
- Review and update this plan
- Distribute questionnaires to new audience members
- Review boilerplate messages and language on home page and other top-tier pages
- Conduct user tests asking users who are new to the site to perform basic functions; identify and fix major problem areas
- Biennially
- Review site photography beyond the story imagery for currency, brand alignment and connection to marketing goals.
Resources and staffing
The maintenance of this plan requires a total of 1.25 FTE divided among the two below positions, along with a budget of $10,000 annually.
- Communications director - .25 FTE – Provide oversight, analyze traffic and direct the use of the website to support ongoing communications issues
- Web content specialist – 1.0 FTE – Create content, write stories, add imagery, maintain content, keep pages up to date
- Photography budget: $5,000 per year
- Graphic design support: $5,000 per year