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The golden ruleof the web

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

Nick DeNardisAssociate Director of Web CommunicationsWayne State Universityhttp://wayne.edu/

Host of EDU Checkuphttp://educheckup.com/

Writer for .eduGuruhttp://doteduguru.com/

Curator of EDU Snippitshttp://edusnippits.com/

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What we will cover

Problems Solutions Tools

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Maintaining a website is like maintaining a building

A single department might look like a ranch in the suburbs

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But in reality it is just a floor in a giant skyscraper.

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You wouldn't want to wander around a

skyscraper

Why do we let it happen to our users?

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Get in & get outSpotting pain points on other sites is easy

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@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

The curse of knowledgeYou are no longer an outsider

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Curses are myths

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Only YOU can stand up for your users

Every day will be a struggle

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Ace the checkup testHomepage

Degree List

Program

Requirements

• Admission

• Degree

• Outcomes

• Faculty

• Students

• Alumni

• Research

• Advisors

Next Step

• RequestInformation

• Schedule aVisit

• ContactAdvisor

• Find Contact Information

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Common pain points

• Missing content

• Duplicate content

• Obstructed content

• Dead ends

• PDF's

• Silos

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Missing content

• Upcoming Deadlines

• Program Information

• Contact Information

• Coming Soon

• More important things to do

• Assigning responsibilities

• Lack of time

• Lack of knowledge

What Why?

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Missing content

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Missing content

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Duplicate content

• Bulletin information

• Admission requirements

• Faculty profiles

• Forms, forms, forms

• Inbound links

• Multiple owners

• Multiple initiatives

• Assuming existing information isn’t findable

Why?What

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@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

Requirements Confusion

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“I already filled out that form”

What do you mean? Google gave me this one!

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Duplicate Forms

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Obstructed content

• Non user controlled animation

• Slow interactions

• Inaccessibility

• “Wow” factor

• Different goals

• Laziness

• Lack of information

Why?What

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Slow Interactions

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Dead Ends

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Dead ends

• Request information

• Contact an advisor

• View course description

• Directions to an office/event

• Apply!

• Lack of maintenance

• Oversight

• Assumptions

Why?Looking for:

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@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

PDF's

• Over used

• Under used

• Accessibility Issues

• Laziness

• Lack of Knowledge

What Why?

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Overused

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Unnecessary

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Silos

• “My users are different”

• “My site needs to have movement, it needs Flash”

• “We have our own IT people, they can handle it”

• “The university tools are too limiting”

• “We need close control over everything we are doing”

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What we will cover

Problems Solutions Tools

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SolutionsThere is no "easy" button

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Content audits

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Do you own this?

Step #1 to running a successful website

http://www.contentstrategy.com/

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Before

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After

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Personas

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@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

Content ownership

• Structure of CMS

• IT infrastructure

• Lack of sharing

• Static pages

• Trapped in MS Word

YourUsersOwnYour

Content

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@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

Feedback loops

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Idea

Sketch

Implement

Testing

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Idea

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Sketch

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Implementation

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Testing

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Testing

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Refine

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Communicate

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Communication = Trust

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Blog, post often

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@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

What we will cover

Problems Solutions Tools

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

Books

• Rocket Surgery Made EasySteve Krug

• Content Strategy for the WebKristina Halvorson

• Web Form DesignLuke Wroblewski

• Neuro Web DesignSusan M. Weinschenk

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Tools

• CrazyEgg.com

• Woopra.com

• Websort.net

• Wordpress.com

• Tumblr.com

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CrazyEgg

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Woopra

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Woopra

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Websort

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Questions?

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Thank youhttp://slideshare.net/nickdenardis/

@nickdenardis#eduGuruSummit

Photo Credits

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenniferbrooke/4903005798/

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/lobraumeister/3719898954/

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/rowmuse/309535784/

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/traftery/4773457853/

• http://www.woopra.com/features/visitor-tracking/