Get a Head Start

My favorite quote is from Bob Johnson, a web consultant for higher ed. He says, “websites always eat but they never poop.” Well folks, our website needs an enema. Our bloated 30,000-page website will be streamlined to under 15,000 pages – that’s one page per student for easy figuring.

Delete R.O.T. Now

I have heard people say you should never delete old content and that’s simply not true. You can start improving your website now by removing content that is either Redundant, Outdated or Trivial.

Ask yourself:

• Do I really need meeting minutes from 2010 on my website?
• Is anyone reading our welcome letter from the chair? (TIP: They aren’t reading it.)
• What’s the point of keeping information for an event held two years ago?
• Do I really need financial aid information on my site or should I link directly to the authoritative source?

25 Questions to Start Asking

You can also start critically thinking about what you hope to achieve during the redevelopment process. During your assigned wave, we’ll go through a formal website audit with you to identify every file on your website, assess your analytics and provide recommendations. Answering these 25 questions now will give you a head start on the formal website audit process.

1. Who visits your site? Of those visitors, what segment matters most?
2. What is the purpose of your website?
3. What types of actions do you want your visitors to take on your website?
4. What makes you different from your competitors (if applicable)?
5. What do you like most about your current website?
6. Is there any functionality or options on your current website that you plan to keep (other than the content)?
7. What are your top 3 frustrations with your current website?
8. What other websites do you look to for inspiration?
9. What about those inspirational websites would you like incorporated into your website?
10. What types of things do you see on other websites that you really like?
11. What types of things do you see on other websites that you really hate?
12. Who will be involved on your end in the redevelopment of your website?
13. What type of governance model do you prefer for your new website?
14. Do you use marketing URLs? If yes, where and what are they?
15. How many pages will be in your new website vs your current website?
16. Do you have any specific photos you plan to use?
17. Will we need to find and/or create any images for the website?
18. Do you have newsletters/magazines that should be converted into blogs?
19. Do you need any password-protected areas? What content will be put behind password-protected areas?
20. How many web forms does your new site need? What is the purpose of each?
21. Will there be any third-party applications that will need to be integrated?
22. Will you need an events calendar embed?
23. What information must be on your home page?
24. What features, sections or information do you want emphasized on you site?
25. Do you have any other specifications or need specific functionality?