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One Does Not Simply ...

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Walk Away from a Website Redesign

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Leanne Galletly

User Experience & Digital Scholarship Librarian

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Middlebury College

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Contact me: lgalletly@middlebury.edu or go.middlebury.edu/leanne/

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Practical Takeaways

Please share anything you’d specifically like to hear about in the chat

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PROJECT OVERVIEW

September 2018 – June 2019

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Redesign Team

Library

Lead by myself and Web UX Team, which has representatives from across library

Communications

Driving the project institutionally, allowed us more control than other sites

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ITS

Supported technical infrastructure and created unique components

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www.middlebury.edu/academics/library

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Project Phases

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Planning

Structure

Content

Launch

  • Model sites
  • Identify stakeholders
  • Interviews
  • Content Audit
  • Card Sort
  • Information Architecture
  • Content Guide and Name Authority
  • Writing content in Google Docs
  • Training for editors
  • Additional pages
  • Continued maintenance

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1.

PLANNING

October – December

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Planning

  • Research model library websites
  • Identify stakeholders
  • Interview stakeholders
  • Platform audit
  • Goals and audience for finished site

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Stakeholder Interviews

  • What information about your work or department must be publicized on the new website?
  • Who is your intended audience, and what are their goals on your section of the website?
  • How many staff have access to the edit the website, why?
  • Tell us about your work as a web editor.
  • What are some challenges in the current site you’ve experienced?
  • Are there any features you would like to see carry over to the new site?
  • Are there any features you don’t want to carry over to the new site?
  • Are there places other than the library Drupal site that have important information about your area?

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Platform Map

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Audience

Primary

Enrolled students, faculty, and staff

Secondary

Library guests, visitors, prospective students, faculty, or staff

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Goals

Mobile first, aesthetically pleasing and intuitive library website

Simple WYSIWYG backend

Consistent voice with predictable format

Custom components and features

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2.

STRUCTURE

December – February

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Structure

  • Content Audit
  • Card Sort
  • Information Architecture

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Card Sort Analysis with Optimal Workshop

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3.

CONTENT

February – April

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Content

Content Guide

Shared document that details writing for web, accessibility requirements, and name authority

Content Creation

Content was drafted and revised in Google Docs before submitting to communications to upload into new site structure

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bit.ly/midd-lib-content-guide

Middlebury Library’s Content Guide

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4.

LAUNCH

June –

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Launch

Training

Communications handled onboarding and editor training

Page Ownership

Every page has a clear owner, who is responsible for the content

Ongoing Maintenance

Scheduled editing sessions for content creators, twice yearly.

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Additional Pages

Content from other platforms slowly migrated into new site

Customizations

Continued work with ITS to improve site components (next up, jumbo image)

Search Widget

Within next year, hoping to redesign search widget

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Now who manages what?

Library

  • Content
  • Organization of content
  • Standards and practices

Communications & ITS

  • Design
  • Layout
  • Components
  • Backend Editor

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RESULTS

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www.middlebury.edu/library

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155 pages

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14 trained editors

Down from 346 on old site

Readability of text to US schools grading system (Flesch Kincaid Grade Level)

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IN REVIEW

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Project in Review

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Redesign

Planning: identifying stakeholders, goals, audience

Structure: reviewing existing content, create new architecture

Content: share content guide, write or revise pages

Launch: training, site live, expectations defined for editors

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Ongoing Work

Content: frequently reviewed, new pages undergo approval process to avoid creep, 4-5 news stories per month

Technical: updates to custom components, project requests (jumbo image) to ITS and Communications, maintain links and redirects

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Thanks!

Questions & Comments

Leanne Galletly

lgalletly@middlebury.edu

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