Behind the Scenes
Think “web site redesign” and most of us probably think visually — images, colors, fonts, layout — all the elements that make a web site sing. In truth, much of the work goes on behind the scenes. Before you can build a house, you must draw up detailed blueprints, prepare the ground, lay the foundation. The same holds true for a web site So here’s what we’ve been doing “behind the scenes.”
The Foundation
In collaboration with Fastspot (our web design partner) and the Web Advisory Group, here’s what we’ve been doing:
- Discovering. In order for Fastspot to learn about Bucknell, we shared critical research and strategy documents, held small focus group sessions, and reviewed pros and cons of competitor and other web sites
- Developing a project timeline. Since we are aiming for a "sometime-in-July" launch, our timeline was built backwards from the launch target.
- Developing a creative brief. This document articulates what we want to convey about Bucknell and what sort of emotional response we are aiming for. It also establishes our priorities, such as highlighting academics before everything else, and considering prospective students as our primary audience.
- Reviewing and revising the site architecture. The architecture of the site is the underlying structure that the design is based upon. We’ve reviewed the entire organization of the web site multiple times with an eye towards clarity and simplicity.
- Creating wireframes. Independent of design (any look & feel), and analogous to a blueprint, wireframes allow the design firm to organize their ideas spatially, blocking out areas on the web page for features and components.
The Structure
What’s next?
- Fastspot is conducting a content audit. This will help us determine what belongs on the public site and what belongs in myBucknell, as well as out of date content, new content that we should create, or content that we should revise more forcefully for the web.
- Fastspot is visiting campus on April 4, 2008 to present round one of their design concepts. They will be presenting three design concepts for the home page, and two design concepts for the main athletics site.
- Based on our feedback, Fastspot will present the next round of designs later in April.
- Once the design is finalized, the technical and programming work will begin as we do the work necessary to implement the new design in our Web Content Management system.
You might be wondering….
- Will we share the designs with the campus? Yes, although we don’t know yet exactly when that will be, we will share the selected design concept before the end of the semester.
- What impact will this have on my web site? In most cases, a minimal impact. Some architectural changes will occur, which means sections of the site will move. Url’s will NOT change. We will, however, be reaching out to some specific departments to work through some architectural improvements.
What can you do to help?
- Review your section of the web site The time to sort out content that belongs on the public web site from content that belongs in myBucknell is now! So much of what we currently have on the public web site is too detailed for site visitors. The external audience does need to know what services, programs, and eventswe have, but they do not need the nitty-gritty details. Save that for the Bucknell community. If you could take a good, hard look at your site’s content, we can help you publish that information to the right place.
- Think ‘global’. Visitors to our web site don’t know, or necessarily care about, how we organize ourselves, or who is responsible for what. When they come to our site, they are looking for information. They don’t know which office or department "owns" that information. The web site is like a classroom without walls. We should be thinking about how we can best present the information and not be overly concerned with developing independent web sites.
- Ask questions! Have a concern, suggestion, or idea. Now is the time to communicate with us. At this point everything is still on the table. Use the feedback feature on this page, or send an email to webdevelopment@bucknell.edu.
No Comments