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Semelhante a AMA Basics in Website Design
Semelhante a AMA Basics in Website Design (20)
AMA Basics in Website Design
- 1. Development of a Winning Collegiate Website: Strategies, Development and Focus Presented by Theresa Boucher VP of Technology UNLV AMA 2007-2009 VP of Technology AMA Las Vegas 2008-2010 UW – Whitewater 2009 Regional AMA Conference November 6 th , 2009
Notas do Editor
- Hello I am Theresa Boucher For two years I was the vp of technology for the collegiate chapter of AMA at the University of Nevada Las Vegas I am currently serving as the VP of Technology for the AMA Las Vegas chapter. Just a couple of weeks ago I turned over the collegiate website to a new VP of technology and so the website that is currently posted is not the one I designed. And I am in the process of designing a new website for the AMA Las Vegas. I hope to launch it by the end of December. One of the challenges of creating a chapter website is that is changes hands and evolves over time.
- I will be focusing on the development of collegiate websites, but it is important to understand that all theses suggestions and ideas can be applied to business websites as well. I am going to go over the key steps and give you some do’ and don’ts in the design and development of your website. It doesn’t matter whether you are planning on creating a new website or just want to get more out of your current website. What makes a difference is how you plan your site.
- There are two basic purposes for a website To sell and to inform With a collegiate website you are actually doing both: You’re selling your group – The image and what you have to offer - whether you want to recruit new members, get sponsors, or get involvement from the community. Just like in business if you want them to buy, you need to know what you are selling. Sharing information – It’s not just with your members but your whole community. You’re providing all your visitors with resources. Even if it is just a phone number.
- Then you need to look at who is going to visit your website Students, your members, faculty, parents, professionals, community leaders, organizations, other schools, etc…. Understand that all these people will be coming to your site and will see all your content. Realize that people are on the internet to find answers – so create your website to meet that need.
- What do you want your website to do You can start off basic website a then and expand it over time. The basic form is a flyer type website, usually one page with limited information Who we are and how to contact us With a Brochure – who we are, what we do, list of events, some photos, and contact info Interactive reference guide – in addition to who we are, what we do, events, photos, and contact info you add resources, links, collection of information. It calls for action on the part of the visitor, linking, calling, coming to events, getting them to participate It is important to keep all your goals in mind and what you want from your website as you begin the design process.
- This is an example of a flyer type webpage. It is one page and has a little information, including name and contact. Sometimes this is the best place to start and build upon it.
- You need to think about your navigation structure and what pages you want It can be difficult to get started Best way to do this is to create an outline of what you want on the website. Your main categories will become your navigation structure. Most online sites are design with the aim to be user friendly and easy to surf. You need to decide what to include on your website and how you’re going to present it.
- This is the outline I created for the UNLV AMA website. I just made a list of everything I wanted to include and then I placed them into categories. It became the navigation structure for the website. These headings were across the top with a drop down menu with the sub topics.
- In the designing of your website, you need to know that there are many programs that you can use to design your website based upon your level of skill and access to programs. There are classes you can take as well as on-line tutorials and guides that can help you get started. Templates: You can use templates or site builders which are available all over the internet (many are free). I would just recommend that you make it your own. Add your own touches to the site, keeping in mind that is meshes with the goals of your group. Restrictions/Guidelines: You should check with your school to determine the rules for creating a website. With my school I had to sign a security agreement, with a list of restrictions and guidelines to follow. Also your school may have templates, programs, and graphics you can use on your website. I found many resources on UNLV’s website listed under web communications.
- These are some examples of templates avalible on-line. Just remember to add your own touch to it. make it fit with your needs. I will go into the do’s and don’ts of designing in a few minutes. For now I will take into the next step of planning.
- To test your website, you need to put it up online and make sure all the links are working. Check the website on other computers – mac and pc, 14” and 19”, different web browsers: explorer, firefox, safari, and different upload speeds Make sure it works, and that it keeps working - test using feedback – did you accomplish your goals? Have several people review the site. Use your members, a faculty member, a business professional, and other students. And get their feedback. And use it to make your site better. One way I got feedback was to develop a website committee, any of our members could come and give feedback, contribute content, etc.. It was very helpful to get other perspectives on the website.
- Once your website is ready, you need to promote it Announce it to your members and the community Put the link on everything, flyers, business cards, bulletin boards, social networking sites, etc… These are some flyers I made for various events. I always made sure that the logo, email, and website were listed on every flyer You also want to submit your website to search engines – like google, yahoo, and msn so it makes it easier for people to find you. An place your logo and link on other people sites , like your sponsors, and your local professional chapter
- It is vital that you update website often and Reevaluate the website to see if it is meeting your goals That is what will bring your visitors back again and again. With collegiate chapter another issue is winter and summer breaks. Over the summer , if your group has no activities and won’t be working on the website, it is important to remove the spring dates or any information that would be out of date or misleading. There should be someone from the group listed as a contact during the summer. If you something on the page post the first day of school in the fall. But the important thing to remember is to keep it updated.
- Here are some of the do’s and don’ts of designing your website Animation and sounds can be annoying and drive your visitors away. They can also take too much time to load and most people quickly lose interest in such websites. Here is an example of an fun animation that will probably become very annoying and distracting use a graphic program to reduce photo sizes. Making load time faster. if you have a lot of images, You can also link to an internet photo gallery. And Sometimes white space is more effective than filling in all the space with images. Use images that are appropriate to your goals and needs. I created the sign up button for the unlv website. It is the only animation I used It does drawn some attention but it doesn’t distract from the content of the page. The key is to Ask yourself - does it add to what you are saying or is it just eye candy?
- Don’t use more than three types of font in one page, and a maximum of three different font sizes. Nobody wants to fight their way through a big, gray wall of text. Do use headers - The user should know what page of the website they are on and what content to expect. Break up the text with headers, sub headers, images and bullet points. Draw them into your website not drive them away
- Don’t make your visitors hunt down information or links. Make it easy to find stuff - Create a site map - Keep pages consistent - Have contact information on every page Consistency – don’t use a different template for each page, keep the same the basic format, and colors of the pages. Each page should be able to stand on it’s own (with title, links and content) But don’t confuse the users by changing these elements around I used this site map at the bottom over every page. That way a visitor could find exactly what they were looking for. It also has our email and the last date it was revised.
- Don't underline words if they're not links – it just confuses the visitor Do let people know where a link will take them (especially if is away from your website) Use "ALT" tags on graphics and links An alt tag is the text box that pops up when you hover the mouse over an image or link. Most programs will allow you to add alt tags. It helps your visitors to know where the links are going and search engines to find you.
- Don’t Use under construction page or graphics - if the page is not ready, don’t put it up. Don’t leave old stuff up on the website for long periods of time. More than a week old and people will stop checking the website. Do Most important is to keep your site fresh . – update it. if someone comes to you site and it is out of date, they may not come back. Recency – update events, dates, photos, resources, add new content and links Ask your self what is the incentive for people to come back to the website
- With content development you need to make sure each page in your website has something valuable to offer fundamentally a web page exists to provide something that's useful or interesting to visitors. If your page doesn't have that, then you must fix that problem before worrying about design elements. Thoroughly plan your website around serving the user. Keep the content updated on a regular basis, new information will keep them coming back Make sure the information on the site is relevant, does it match your goals and your visitors needs? The content should also be accessible, the link should work, files should open, images should be clear and it should be viewable on any computer.
- There are many ways to dig up content for your website. Membership information can include: list of benefits, application, instructions, who to contact, how they can participate, like on the board or on a committee. Include a calendar of events, activities including meetings, volunteer and networking opportunities. Not just from your group but community and school events as well. Career information can include job posts, internship posts, resume listings, links to your schools career centers, interview help, resumes examples.. At one point my group had trouble attracting freshmen and sophomores. So we ask what they were looking for in the group, and the information was helpful in the development of website content as well. It turned out that the juniors and seniors were interested in career and internship information. While the freshmen and sophomores were interested in social opportunities and help with school work. So we added some study resources that included links to articles on making a business plan, videos on guerilla marketing, or an website with marketing terms Community resources can be your speakers and their bios, your sponsors, volunteer organizations, your local professional chapter, or community events Know that content is for all people visiting your website and they may have different needs.
- Website and Social networking sites should have a tight integration. Of course you want to post your networking sites on your website and vise versa. But you should integrate them even more. What I do with the professional chapter networking sites is use them to promote my website. When ever I add a new job post on the website, I go to twitter and say “ hey I just added a new job visit our website for details” and link back to the website. Every time I add something to the site , events, jobs, member discounts, or new resources, I post it on all the social networking sites and link it back to the website. This will help drive people to your website and your social networking sites.
- I want to thank you for participating in the AMA regional conference and attending this session. I hope this information will help you get started on the development of an winning website.
- Here are some resources that may help you in your quest for a better website. If you would like a copy of these slides or if you would like a search engine optimization guide that will help take your site to the next level, please feel free to send me an email and I will get it out to you. I will be more than happy to answer any questions?