The document outlines steps for building a better college website, as presented by Zac from VisionPoint Marketing. The 5 steps discussed are:
1. Goal setting, including defining goals, knowing the audience, and creating user personas.
2. Information architecture, which determines the website structure and navigation.
3. Technology decisions, such as evaluating content management systems.
4. Visual design considerations for higher education websites.
5. Website governance, including defining roles and responsibilities, relationships, rules, and processes for reviewing the website.
The presentation emphasizes making user-centric design decisions and establishing strong governance to ensure the website remains on brand, up-to-date, and effective over time.
3. About VisionPoint
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Established in March 2001 & located in Raleigh, NC with team of ~ 15
Specialize in online marketing consultation and execution in higher ed
Serve: Large & Small; Public & Private; Grad, Post-Grad, Undergrad, CC
Web, branding, inbound marketing, strategy, consultation, etc.
Focus on what’s right for our clients (no ‘one size fits all’ approach)
Speaking on HE marketing at CASE, AMA, eduWeb, NCMPR, AACSB, others
26. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Sample Stakeholder Interview Questions
> Tell us about your unit/offering
> Tell us about your role here
> What are the goals for your unit/offering?
> What are the biggest challenges you face?
> Who is your target audience?
> What do you want to communicate?
> What are your goals for the website?
> What is the current state of your content?
> Do you feel that the website communicates the
school’s brand well?
28. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Website Goals: the new website will . . .
> Attract prospective students
> Engage prospective students in decision-making process
> Be user-friendly (find what you’re looking for quickly & easily)
> Make content publishing easier, more streamlined and timelier
> Be built on a modern CMS (easy to use, stable, dynamic, supported)
> Have a home page that acts as conduit to content (not billboard)
> Will be more search friendly (external engines + internal search)
> Elevate brand perception & credibility
34. #betterHEweb @zhhender
What is a Website Persona?
A website user persona is a fictional character that represents
a set of real users (user groups) of a website. The persona
should represent the goals, attitudes (toward the institution,
technology, etc), demographics, and general behavior
patterns of a real group of website users.
36. Barry Antonelli (44 Years Old)
Prospective Student - Online MBA
Family Situation
Single
Occupation
Accountant / Consultant
Annual Income
$70,000
Internet Behavior
Facebook (medium), E-mail (heavy), IM/ Chat (heavy), YouTube (light), Search
engines (Google), On-site search (light)
Devices
Personal laptop, Blackberry
Tech savviness
3 stars (out of 5)
Uses the WTCC
website for:
non-credit course descriptions, course scheduling information, access to
online courses
Barry is your classic professional ‘road warrior’. He travels quite a bit for work and enjoys his job, but he has
always been drawn to graphic design and would like to get a more formal understanding of Photoshop.
He’s not ready for a career change, but would be if he felt that he could make it as a graphic designer. He’s
looking for a class that will provide him with a way that he can get his feet wet in the field of graphic design (e.g.
Introduction to Photoshop). Even if he doesn’t go for a career change he would like to continue to take graphic
design classes for fun. He’s wanted to do this for years, but he cannot commit to attending class on campus
because he’s on the road almost every week. An online class would be perfect for him.
In order to make the decision, Barry will be looking for information on availability in the area, descriptions and
examples regarding the overall online course experience, commitments he needs to make to attend any part of
the class on campus, tuition and fees, FAQs and a calendar of when the next class begins.
38. Barry Antonelli (44 Years Old)
Prospective Student > Online MBA
Distance Education Goals
Aggregate goals for this group
> Look up class availability and descriptions
> Research instructor information
> Find technology requirements
> Register for classes
> Look up descriptions of the online experience
> Assess whether or not online learning is for them
40. What is Information Architecture?
IA is the centerpiece of website design & development yet it is the
most commonly overlooked part of the process (which is why so
many sites fail)
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Determines the hierarchy of on-page content
Informs navigation
Informs visual design
Informs technology decisions
Allows visitor to find what they’re looking for quickly & easily
41.
42. User G
(
1.0
Programs
(Compare Programs)
2.0
Faculty & Research
3.0
Student Life & Services
4.0
About Us
Undergraduate Programs
Faculty
Study Abroad
Quick Facts & Rankings
Full-Time MBA
Academic Departments
Campus Life
History
Clubs & Organizations
Vision
Community & Diversity
Smith Leadership
Events
Administrative Offices
Part-Time MBA
Executive MBA
Accounting & Information Assurance
Decision, Operations & Information Technologies
Finance
Executive Education
Logistics, Business & Public Policy
MS Programs
PhD Program
Management & Organization
Marketing
Centers & Labs
Career Services
Office of Development and Alumni Relations
Office of Finance & Administration
Office of Global Initiatives
Office of Human Resources
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
Office of Marketing Communications
Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
Office of Smith IT
Center for Digital Innovation, Technology, and Strategy (DIGITS)
Office of Smith Programs and Events (OSPE)
Center for Excellence in Service
Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS)
Contact Us
Center for Leadership, Innovation & Change (CLIC)
Supply Chain Management Center
Center for Complexity in Business
Center for Social Value Creation
Center for Financial Policy
Behavioral Laboratory
Legend:
Financial Markets Laboratory
Core Site
Published Research
Section
Seminars & Events
Mini Site
External Link
Search
Home
43. User G
(
1.0
Programs
(Compare Programs)
2.0
Faculty & Research
3.0
Student Life & Services
4.0
About Us
Undergraduate Programs
Faculty
Study Abroad
Quick Facts & Rankings
Full-Time MBA
Academic Departments
Campus Life
History
Clubs & Organizations
Vision
Community & Diversity
Smith Leadership
Events
Administrative Offices
Part-Time MBA
Executive MBA
Accounting & Information Assurance
Decision, Operations & Information Technologies
Finance
Executive Education
Logistics, Business & Public Policy
MS Programs
PhD Program
Management & Organization
Marketing
Centers & Labs
Career Services
Office of Development and Alumni Relations
Office of Finance & Administration
Office of Global Initiatives
Office of Human Resources
Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship
Office of Marketing Communications
Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
Office of Smith IT
Center for Digital Innovation, Technology, and Strategy (DIGITS)
Office of Smith Programs and Events (OSPE)
Center for Excellence in Service
Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS)
Contact Us
Center for Leadership, Innovation & Change (CLIC)
Supply Chain Management Center
Center for Complexity in Business
Center for Social Value Creation
Center for Financial Policy
Behavioral Laboratory
Legend:
Financial Markets Laboratory
Core Site
Published Research
Section
Seminars & Events
Mini Site
External Link
Search
Home
46. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Tenets of a User Centric Approach
> IA of successful websites are designed to get the site’s visitors
(users) to what they’re looking for as quickly and easily as
possible
> Your site map will NOT look like your org chart
> If it doesn’t serve the users’ goals, it doesn’t belong on the
public-facing site *
61. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Some things to consider when selecting a CMS
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How complex will your content approval process be?
How many content contributors and editors will be using the CMS?
How much customer support do you need?
How much do you plan on spending?
What kind of technology platform can your IT service team
support?
> What level of integration with third-party applications is needed?
70. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Considerations when designing for higher ed
> Exhibit a sense of place
> Stay true to the hierarchy established in the IA
> Remember that a website is a tool (don’t get so flashy and
decorative that it distracts from the content, navigation, CTAs)
> Keep it real (real people, limit stock as much as possible)
> Design for all content types (video, galleries, directories, news, etc)
> Stay true to the brand
83. well-meaning content
contributors can’t
contribute
content & design
is off brand
investment into new
website wasted
cobbled-together,
rogue websites &
non-approved sections
poor content quality
(bad grammar,
photos, video, etc)
one group or person
being a bottleneck for
getting content published
89. Roles
Responsibilities
Unit Leader
Content
Owner
Relationships
Content
Contributor
Rules
Content
Editor
Deans, Senior Directors, VPs and other unit leaders within
the college
> Responsible for driving the overall content strategy
(unit-specific positioning, messaging, tone & voice)
>
>
Designate Content Owners and approve recommended Content Contributors
& Content Editors
Ultimately accountable for the accuracy & quality of content, as well as to
adherence to standards & processes
Review
Hands-on
92. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Unit Leader
Content
Owner
Content
Contributor
Content
Editor
Web
Management
Team
Information
Technology
Services
Web Advisory
Committee
Executive
Leadership
93. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Content
Contributor
Unit Leader
WAC recommends
disciplinary action
Web Advisory against Content
Committee
Content
Contributor
Editor
Content
Owner
Web
Management
Team
Information
Technology
Services
Executive
Leadership has
final approval or
veto power
Executive
Leadership
94. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Content
Contributor
Unit Leader
Unit Leader is
informed by
WAC and
enforces action
against Content
Contributor
WAC recommends
disciplinary action
Web Advisory against Content
Committee
Content
Contributor
Editor
Content
Owner
Web
Management
Team
Information
Technology
Services
Executive
Leadership has
final approval or
veto power
Executive
Leadership
95. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Unit Leader
Unit Leader is
informed by
WAC and
enforces action
against Content
Contributor
WAC recommends
disciplinary action
Web Advisory against Content
Committee
Content
Contributor
Editor
Content
Owner
Web
Management
Team
Information
Technology
Services
Executive
Leadership has
final approval or
veto power
Executive
Leadership
97. Roles
Responsibilities
Relationships
Rules
Review
Rules
A set of documents including supporting policies, procedures and/
or guidelines that are required for use by the roles as they write,
review, edit, approve/reject and publish content.
!
They may include the following:
105. #betterHEweb @zhhender
Key Takeaways
> GOALS: Every decision made about the website will answer the
question: “Does this make sense to our users and serve them well?”
> IA: No longer think of site as static pages and sections
> IA: Think of site as a structure that houses bits of content that are
pushed to wherever appropriate on site
> CMS: Tech will not solve your website woes
> CMS: Choose a CMS that is right for YOUR institution
> DESIGN: Use it to your advantage (sense of place, eye flow,
readability)
> DESIGN: Go responsive
> GOVERNANCE: Ensure success into the future