Decentralizing online publishing in your organization

Creating websites on the fly using Wordpress and Google Sites

Peter SheltonIKM Specialist at IFPRI24 June 2011

Food for thought

• Web and information sharing is changing so fast these days You can either:a) Resist (i.e., lose out)b) Adapt and try new things out little by little

• Institutional website is as important as ever AND we need to put information where people will see it

• Needs to be a culture change for this all to work

Different types of websites on the fly

• Internal sites/blogs (e.g., Let’s Blog IFPRI, CGIAR Change, and Impact Assessment)

• Internal group sites (IFAD-IFPRI Partnership Program, Land Governance Assessment Framework)

• Public sites with IFPRI.info URL• Public sites with custom URL• Public sites with assigned domain (e.g.,

wordpress.com, sites.google.com, etc.)

What you need to decide ahead of time:

• Public or private?• Who will have editing rights to site?• What is primary function/purpose?

– Making announcements– Sharing publications, documents, photos, PowerPoints, etc.

• What to include on Home and About pages• Custom header, colors, etc.• Site layout (e.g., 1, 2 or 3 columns?)• Sidebar menu items (About blurb, search box, recent

posts, tag cloud, links, etc.)

3-2-1 Liftoff!Items needed for takeoff:•Platform (Wordpress vs. Google Sites)•Domain (ifpri.info, wordpress.com or custom)•Starter content (about text, document list, links, announcements, agenda, etc.)•Layout•Design elements (e.g., colors and banner)

The who, the what and the whenDescription Contact person Estimated

timeframeConceptualization of website and choosing appropriate platform

COM liaison/Luz Marina Alvare/Pete Shelton

2-5 days

Registration of custom domain Nancy Walczak 2-3 days

Installation of Wordpress on development server

Chris Addison/Mulugeta Bayeh

2-3 days

Development of custom banner Evelyn Banda/Julia Vivalo 5-10 days

Creating draft version of site on development server

Pete Shelton/Katarlah Taylor 5-15 days

Sharing draft site with colleagues for feedback/approval

Project person/team 2-5 days

Training of project person(s) in creation/management of online content

Pete Shelton/Katarlah Taylor 1 day

Transferring development site to live server (a.k.a. “the launch”)

Mulugeta Bayeh/Melanie Allen

1-2 days

Examples of different websites on the fly

• Internal blogs– CGIAR Change– Impact Assessment

• Project websites– Global Analytical Tools on Trade (GATT)

• Event websites– TEDxWashingtonCircle– 2020 Conference on “Leveraging Agriculture for Improved Nutrition a

nd Health”• Team sites (internal)

– IFAD-IFPRI Partnership• Team sites (public)

– CRP4: Agriculture for Improved Nutrition and Health

Closing thoughts: Getting noticed on the web

• IGNORANCE ≠ BLISS• Boost your search engine ranking (SEO)

– Frequent updates (e.g., blog)– Incoming links (practice “link love”)– Social media applications

• Offer different types of content (announcements, documents, presentations, photos, videos)

• Put content where people will find it and embed into site (YouTube, Slideshare, Flickr, Mendeley)

• Build in collaboration where possible/applicable (e.g., Mendeley reading list)

Thank you!