Things to ask before you redo your web site (for higher ed)

Posted: September 18th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Higher Ed, planning, Web Redesign | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments »

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5 Comments on “Things to ask before you redo your web site (for higher ed)”

  1. 1 Tweets that mention Things to ask before you redo your web site (for higher ed) | edustir -- Topsy.com said at 10:10 AM on September 18th, 2009:

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ron Bronson. Ron Bronson said: From edustir.com: Things to ask before you redo your web site (for higher ed): Now I’m pi.. http://bit.ly/2yGRK5 [...]

  2. 2 Mike McCready said at 10:22 AM on September 18th, 2009:

    I agree with you Ron. When people that don’t understand the process and what is involved drive the process you end up with a end product that may not achieve goals or be effective. Developing a clear web strategy, by asking the questions above as well as other, is a great place to start.

    Your post really goes in line with an earlier post of mine called Don’t Redesign Your Website. In this post I talk about approaching the process with the mindset that we are not ‘redesigning’ but ‘realigning’ our website to the strategic goals of the institution.

    If only this message could be shared with all senior executives. Fortunately, at the college where I work. I think our leadership do have some appreciation for the process even if they don’t completely understand it.

  3. 3 Ron Bronson said at 10:28 AM on September 18th, 2009:

    Thanks Mike.

    I’ve been on a variety of sides of this and I’ve seen a ton of different ways. I think sometimes, it’s not even always the fault of senior execs, but situations where no one REALLY has any idea what they’re doing, just know they need to do *something* and then the process gets bogged down with a lot of people dancing in circles.

    Well that and it can often just be too political a process. As many things in higher ed can be. But it’s amazing what the process is like when things aren’t convoluted. Unfortunately, I’m guessing that’s the exception rather than the rule.

  4. 4 Andrew Careaga said at 7:30 AM on September 20th, 2009:

    I like your comparison of the web to a campus’s physical infrastructure — buildings, classrooms, etc. What strikes me as odd, after 18-plus years in higher education, is that so often we fail to consider the cost of maintenance for either physical plant or online presence. The maintenance of infrastructure after it’s built should also be taken into account.

    Your list of questions is excellent, and similar to the three I try to ask whenever any client or prospective client who approaches me with a brilliant marketing idea (usually a tactic). Those questions are:

    1. Who? (Who is your audience?)

    2. What? (What do you want to tell them?)

    3. How? (How do you want them to react? What results are you after?)

    Too often, we fail to ask the right questions before diving in to a project.

    I also like Mike’s concept of “realigning” instead of “redesigning.”

  5. 5 Ron Bronson said at 9:52 AM on September 20th, 2009:

    Thanks for the perspective (as always!), Andy.

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