Web Services at JSU

• Chris started 1998, Graham started 2007• Web Services is based out of IT - There is a

Marketing Dept but they are predominantly for print media.

• About 150+ Cascade users / about 100+ sites• One web server for the University

Our Problems

• Limited Staff• Site Structure based on Campus Structure• Lack of consistency

Lack of Consistency

• 20+ HTML editing methods– Dreamweaver, Frontpage, Word (really), etc

• No “branded” look or design• No shared/uniform content• No way to train

Site Structure

• Compartmentalized Silos• No “overall” picture• Internal Terminology• Territorial claim to content

Our Audience

• Students– Future Students– Current Students

• Alumni• Faculty/Staff

Future Students

• What do future students want?– Go to local high schools and meet with students• Asked them to find key areas of the website• Observed their interaction• Asked them to read key pages

– What did we learn?• Students expected everything to be in Admissions• They had no idea about departments or “ownership”• The could also detect “happy talk”• They don’t want to read – they want “the answer”

Current Students

• What do current students want?– Met with student organizations• Do you use your departmental website?

- Typically No, they ask the secretary- If yes, it was to find faculty member’s info

• Need one spot to find relevant info fast

– What did we learn?• Department should focus on future students• Consistent Faculty/Staff content

Training Sessions

• Initial Group Training• Individual Training• Best Practices -KISS

How We Train

• Initial Group Training– 2 weeks, 2 sessions a day

• Individual Training– Basic overview of Cascade – 1.5 Hours– Have them use the Web Help form to submit

questions• Best Practices –KISS– No editing. Concepts and “how to think” as your

audience

Best Practices

• Think Mobile FirstReduce Content• Bulleted Lists• No Happy Talk• Give them only information they need• Reduce Clutter

Best Practices

• Think of Your AudienceMeet Expectations• Use terms they will understand• Include News/Events

Make Content a Conversation• “You” instead of “a student”•Make it personal• Give them a “Call to Action”

Best Practices

• Categorize NavigationMost important items on topFocused content groupingsReduce amount of items

Users as Limitations

• Users are typically secretaries that are busy• Limited Web knowledge• They only do what they are told Ex: “My dean wants this on the website”• Time/Skill Limitations for ALL users

Working with Limitations

• Less options = More Production

Ex: Custom editors in Cascade– Users are limited to fields instead of full WYSIWYG editor– Focus is on content rather than format

Ex: All forms are handled through Wufoo.com– Users can edit forms easily– Embedded in current page structure– Conditional logic and more options– Frees us up from manually creating HTML forms

Moving Forward

• Digital Signage– Using the Rise Vision Platform and Cascade– Saved $70,000 with this method– Slowly adding more signs across campus

• Monthly Quiz Based Training– Keep users active by giving them monthly

exercises – Can run audits to see who has done the work

Moving Forward

• Meet monthly with Marketing– Coordinate homepage images and featured videos– Compare projects and work together to

accomplish tasks• Open lab on a schedule– bi-weekly open lab where users can come to

computer lab to ask questions and get help– users can learn from other users as well