Thinking about redeveloping your unit’s Web site?
There are several issues that you may want to consider in any Web site redevelopment project. Addressing the issues listed below will help to ensure that your site is accessible to the vast majority of people visiting your pages, and will also reduce your unit’s long-term costs by ensuring that your site is easier to maintain and redevelop into the future.
This information is intended to be a rough guide; if you’d like assistance in considering different ways in which your redesign might proceed, please contact us at web.admin@ubc.ca.
Basic issues
Any site redevelopment project should at a minimum address the following issues:
- there should be a consistent look and feel between pages (and where possible, amongst related sites, e.g. departments across a Faculty)
- common navigational elements should appear on all pages (or sites)
- key information should be included on every page in the site (last updated or reviewed date, e-mail contact for each particular page)
- HTML code should meet appropriate standards (W3C)
- pages/sites should be tested using various computer/browser configurations and over various network speeds
- pages should load quickly and easily (no display, javascript/code, or download time problems should exist)
- ideally, all pages are screen reader friendly for the visually impaired
- it should be relatively easy to modify a page (simple word processing skills), or create a new page (e.g. use of back-end content management tools, Dreamweaver template, Frontpage theme)
- as much as possible, content (the textual information on the site) should be separated from presentation (the look and feel of the site)
- it should be relatively easy to modify the ENTIRE look and feel of the site
Checklist
In redeveloping your site, you may want to ask yourself (or your Web developer) the following questions:
1. Will the site be easy to maintain? What level of technology is needed to edit/add pages to the site?
The biggest challenge in having a Web presence is often in keeping the information current. If a site is complicated and difficult to maintain, it’s less likely that the information will be updated on a regular/timely basis.
What software programs are needed to edit/update the site?
Often, Web designers use graphics for site navigation elements and headings. If a page needs to be edited or added to the site, will you need access to a graphics designer or software program in order to do so?
Does the person who will be responsible for maintaining the site have a powerful enough computer to get the job done?
2. What level of Web site development knowledge is necessary to maintain the site?
Ideally, only basic computer and word processing knowledge is necessary. If the person responsible for maintaining the site were to leave your department or be away for an extended period of time, could someone else easily take over this task?
3. How long does it take to add a page of content?
The time it takes to create and add a page to a Web site should typically be no different than creating a normal Word document, depending on the complexity of the formatting.
4. How long does it take to add an entirely new section of the site (i.e. another main navigational item), extrapolating/keeping in mind that this process will have to occur to ALL pages of the complete site?
It should be very easy to add in or modify main navigational elements (ideally, no image buttons need to be created). If every page within the site is generated from a content management tool (database), or based on templates (themes, include files, etc.), making a navigation change to the one template page should cause that change to automatically propagate to every page in the site.
5. How easy is it to change the ENTIRE look and feel of the site?
Ideally, the content of the site (the textual information on the site) should be separated from presentation (the look and feel of the site), so that future redesigns can be more easily implemented.
Even low-cost Web site development tools (e.g. Dreamweaver, Frontpage) have features that enable you to change the entire look and feel of a site with the click of a few buttons, even if the site includes hundreds or thousands of pages.
6. Does the site display properly and quickly across various platforms, network speeds etc.?
The site should be tested using various computer/browser configurations (Mac, PC, IE, Netscape, different monitor sizes and resolutions etc.) and over various network speeds to ensure no display, javascript/code, or download time problems exist.
You can do some testing online using the following Web-based tools:
- http://validator.w3.org/ (checks validity of HTML)
- http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ (checks validity of Cascading Style Sheets)
- http://bobby.watchfire.com/ (checks visually impaired screenreader accessibility)
