Best you grow hair – everywhere: the challenges associated with designing/redesigning a new university website 21 June 2018

Director Communication and Marketing department University of Cape Town

Kylie Hatton

Before we start…

Chatham House rules apply*…

a rule or principle according to which information disclosed during a meeting may be reported by those present, but the source of that

information may not be explicitly or implicitly identified.

* Chatham House Rule is a system for holding debates and discussion panels on controversial issues, named after the headquarters of the UK Royal Institute of International Affairs, based in Chatham House, London, where the rule originated in June 1927. At a meeting held under the Chatham House Rule, anyone who comes to the meeting is free to use information from the discussion, but is not allowed to reveal who made any comment. It is designed to increase openness of discussion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Institute_of_International_Affairs

Redesigning a university video is a lot like herding cats: https://youtu.be/Pk7yqlTMvp8

https://youtu.be/Pk7yqlTMvp8

What did we have before 2013 when the project started?

Cats, rats cows, horses… in pens, stables, sheds, circus tents…

• over 231 websites, sitting in different content management systems on at least seven different servers with aging and unreliable infrastructure

• high density of information on the corporate site

• difficulty for users to navigate the site• non-responsive design • outdated user experience • weak look and feel

The old website(s)

What did we do?other than panic?

What were our guiding principles

• the university’s strategic priorities (homepage real estate - primary and secondary navigation)

• benchmarking of our site against other higher education institutions internationally and locally

• benchmarking of our site within the broader online industry• feedback from our users through Google analytics, workshops and

user engagements • the parameters of the current Drupal content management system

• established a Project Implementation Committee

• (Chair: DVC, ICTS, CMD, Faculties, Libraries)

to oversee • the web migration project• web renewal project

• agreed on new web governance rules, policies and procedures

• agreed on a new Content Management System – Drupal

• new design templates• agreed on a budget • pilot phase (service provider) • started work

That sounds easy right….

What did we do in 2013…2014…2016...2017?

Well…• We didn’t know what we didn’t know… in the end we had 144 sites with 9000 pages to

migrate… but it still took longer• we underestimated the budget (R1,2 million to R3,5 million)• we underestimated the time it took 2013 – 2017• varying institutional support and change resistance• customising Drupal… NO CMS IS PERFECT!

Web renewal project…• Lots of consultation with multiple stakeholder groups & personas

(students, staff, alumni, media etc)• new design • improved navigation • Split the old homepage into 4 sites

• www.uct.ac.za• www.news.uct.ac.za• www.staff.uct.ac.za• www.students.uct.ac.za

• Focus on awesome user experience – put the users first (not the egos) • responsive design

http://www.uct.ac.za/http://www.news.uct.ac.za/http://www.staff.uct.ac.za/http://www.student.uct.ac.za/

So what do we have now…

Go Live Day: Friday, 26 May 2017. • www.uct.ac.za• www.news.uct.ac.za• www.staff.uct.ac.za• www.students.uct.ac.za

By moving the site on a Friday, the team had a full weekend, when user activity is generally lower, to deal with outstanding issues or unexpected glitches.

Since then…test…fix…repeat….

http://www.uct.ac.za/http://www.news.uct.ac.za/http://www.staff.uct.ac.za/http://www.student.uct.ac.za/

Take out your cellphones…go to…www.uct.ac.za

• Not designed only with a desktop in mind…

• Primary window to the world…• One website to rule them all..

Social media, print, media, campus communication

• Lessons from crisis communications…

• Gateway to UCT’s websites…• Homepage real estate… the

egos have not landed…sort of

www.staff.uct.ac.za

• Targeted information directly for UCT staff

http://www.staff.uct.ac.za/

www.students.uct.ac.za

Quick links (analytics & strategic priorities)

http://www.staff.uct.ac.za/

www.news.uct.ac.za

• stand alone – news room site• visually stimulating and

engaging • regularly updated – 3 stories a

day, 15 stories a week, 45 stories a month, 540 stories a year…

http://www.news.uct.ac.za/

Are we happy?

• Of course…and proud…• but there is so much we still want to do…

– podcasts– video stories – continued emphasis on strong visuals

• Responsive to trends in a bureaucratic environment • Further improved navigation• Content refresh • Better usability (user language)

War wounds…• Have a project champion(s)• Don’t be afraid – do it…• The second you finish web renewal start planning for the next web

renewal• Work out who is responsible for the main site (within CMD)• Make peace with the fact that you will get something wrong…• Trust your gut – it is about the user not the egos• Manage your bread crumb trail…• Mixed user knowledge…Baby boomer…silver surfer…Gen

X…millennial• Test…test…test

Questions and thank you…this kind of felt like a group therapy session…

Slide Number 1Slide Number 2Redesigning a university video is a lot like herding cats: https://youtu.be/Pk7yqlTMvp8 �Slide Number 4Slide Number 5Slide Number 6What were our guiding principlesSlide Number 8Slide Number 9Slide Number 10Slide Number 11Slide Number 12Take out your cellphones…go to…www.uct.ac.zaSlide Number 14Slide Number 15Slide Number 16Are we happy?War wounds…Slide Number 19Slide Number 20