Jeff Evans

www.wallpaperpimper.com

The web started to become ubiquitous for marketing since ~ 1996 publishing since ~ 1997 commerce since ~ 2001 interacting since ~ 2003 ... and new uses are still being developed

Since the late 1990s there has been an explosion of websites, often with little value to either the site owner or potential users
 Number of websites (April 2011)

312,693,296 1

Number of web domains (July 2010): 768,913,036 ... an increase of 826% in 10 years 2
Number of web domains

1,000,000,000 800,000,000 600,000,000 400,000,000 200,000,000 0

2000 2010

While there are over 2 billion internet users worldwide4 (nearly a third of humanity)

a website for every 6.4 internet users! by 2007 estimate, there are over 85,365,269,800 pages on the web!

In 2007 the average number of pages on websites 3 was

273

The methodology for gathering this data is a bit suspect especially given the modern web s use of databases Four years is a long time in internet years

number of pages, content items, or templates

number of systems being integrated how dynamic or automated the site is/will be number of brands/subsites complexity of relationships between content.

Probably the answer for many is

because it s my job because we need to sell more widgets online and that s how punters get to our products & services

The answer should be

because we want to improve user experiences and improve efficient access to our content

Preparing for migration will produce a better result and a smoother migration process. With appropriate preparation there will be

fewer surprises less bad content to migrate better automation of what can be automated managed stakeholder expectations leading to superior outcomes all around

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Vision Prepare Pilot Implement Maintain

... or an iterative redesign process

Your vision statement could include the following:

Define the desired state Provide a compelling vision Scope an Information Architecture Site design Site functionality Tool(s) selection (possibly including CMS).

Remember to be realistic about your planning, so that your reasonable estimates align with what you are attempting .6

The most important tasks in preparation are

 to specify what content currently exists  what will be done with it, and  where it will end up on the new site

The best way to assess your current web is to conduct a content audit (or site inventory )

Do not - repeat, DO NOT - skip the content audit. This process is not just about listing URLs and page titles. It can provide an extraordinary amount of useful, enlightening information that s surprisingly valuable, especially when you re fighting for project support and funding. 8 Kristina Halvorson

Depending on the nature of your site(s) you could need a high level/aggregate or a complete audit.

If your site has broad scope and/or a large number of pages/assets a complete audit might be beyond your time, budget or people resources.
 A complete audit records details on every page  An aggregate audit summarises at a sub-

site/section level

Use a spreadsheet (and possibly also a database) to record common data about you current site(s) components

Both quantitative and qualitative information should be gathered

Detailed audit (each page)

Use outline numbering to show each page/asset in the site's structure

Audit data fields (edit/add fields as appropriate):

Record ID Site URL Site Folder Site Title Date Updated Total HTML(pages)/Size HTML Total PDF/Size PDF Total DOC/Size DOC Total XLS/Size XLS Total PPT/Size PPT Total Zip/Size Zip Total GIF/Size GIF Total JPG/Size JPG Total PNG/Size PNG

Total Other files/Size Other files Total File Size Report Last Run Page Views Site Visitors Site Priority* Content Owner Approver Keywords Additional functionality Comments*

*Comments & Site priority fields record qualitative information

In 2005, Department of Education & Training (DE&T) websites included multiple entry points, domains and owners. DE&T wanted to create a single entry point

Audit and IA process were contracted out Build was done in-house

> 10 sites that act as entry points 147 sites in final audit, owned by 5 business areas within the Department and 7 statutory authorities More than 30 domain names used by the 147 websites; majority of sites in www.sofweb.vic.gov.au or www.eduweb.vic.gov.au domains

Five sites alone accounted for over 36,000 web objects (pages, images, documents and PDFs

Qualitative report  A Web Evaluation Tool (spreadsheet) was used to collect and report data on each of the 147 sites.

Sites were given a rating on a scale of 1, 2 or 3 (the higher the number the better) on the basis of meeting accepted benchmarks for a particular website measure
1=OK , 2=monitor, 3=investigate
Overall content quality indicators for all sites

Qualitative audits analyse quality & effectiveness of content

 Basic - use page freshness, currency of branding, last

updated, dates on recent publications/ newsletters, etc. Currency could be critical to meeting site goals and the decision to keep or kill.
 Detailed - rating accuracy/usefulness with a weighted

scale (may require input from content experts)

A content audit informs a content strategy

Readability clarity and accuracy Completeness and scope Voice and writing style Usefulness and relevance Influence and engagement Usability and discoverability, including the structure of content within a typical section or page.

While the quantitative data provides planning information, results should also be integrated with a content strategy that will provide value long after your rebuild is completed A content audit informs a content strategy

Also consider Content gaps Reviewing and sourcing new content for your website Process and timeline for web template production

Measures to inform your audit Web metrics eg. Google Webmaster Tools and Analytics can be used to determine links to your pages, successful search keywords to retain, bottlenecks to goal pages or transactions and page loading speed Incoming links where do punters land? Internal links remove bottlenecks Standards compliance - eg. W3C, CSS, XHTML, government/industry standards, best practice

Use quantitative & qualitative rankings to decide which content is ROT - Redundant, Out-dated, or Trivial

The less ROT, the better Tell users that you ll be doing it

A huge topic in itself, might be best in large sites to employ experienced experts. Use both "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches

Top-down - focusses on the big picture - your business goals and main tasks the site supports. It will include: Category review Structural review Review of navigation labels Bottom-up" - focusses a more detailed view of your content. Could include a review of: Page titles Page structures: content chunking and labelling File and directory names

Develop templates for the major types of pages you will have on your new site

Wireframe designs can assist with user testing (and users can inform your wireframe designs).

Draft page templates can be used to begin the technical build , ie. create working HTML pages with placeholder content.

Stages in piloting your new site include

Systems configuration/development Launch the pilot Period for fixing issues discovered in the pilot Content migration Period where actual users use the piloted site (UAT)

Pilot to representative users

Consider multiple iterations of user testing hire in expertise or do it yourself

The site build might be outsourced or done inhouse if you have resources

The IA and user testing feedback should keep pathways trimmed (fewer entry points to sections of content)

Steps could include Migrate in batches, with time in between to fix rules and process Automated migration (eg. document repository) Manual migration (replacing & testing new templates) Continued fixes Communications plan to flag pending launch Author training Set up ongoing metrics / KPIs Test and tweak Launch Seek feedback regularly (user group meetings, internal & external social media).

Staffing issues and roles to consider:

Site Manager Content Manager Liaisons and Coordinators (in web team) Editors / Writers* Subject Matter Experts # Content Publishers # Project Manager*
*Could be contractors

Web Developers/ Application developers* Designer/s* (for graphics/web design) Help Desk - ongoing and over migration # Trainers * Executive Sponsorship #

#Must be in business units

Don t forget SEARCH, both internal and external Over 52% of web users use search to find your site develop Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies & capability (especially on transaction sites) Site search is less used, but still important to many users

Quantitative measures Check for link rot Check page load times Use metrics to constantly review
 Navigation labels  SEO and keyword quality  Paths to user goals

Qualitative measures

Ask your site users

 web2.0 tools  feedback forms  user testing

Review regularly Have a content strategy

Thank you
Jeff Evans Jeff.evans@health.vic.gov.au