Refresh your UNB website in two weeks
Author: Jean-Étienne Sheehy
Posted on Dec 4, 2019
Category: Web and Social Media
Do you wonder how long will it take to refresh your UNB website? You’re not alone! Most units ask this question during their initial meeting with the Marketing Office.
The answer varies and depends on many factors such as a potential timeline or your unit’s bandwidth.
Good preparation and collaboration can ease this process and overcome potential obstacles. With our help, it’s possible to refresh your UNB website in as quickly as two weeks!
Ahead of the refresh
The refresh begins by filling out a content strategy, a document that lays the foundation for your unit’s online presence by outlining information such as:
- your website’s audience
- your key messages
- your goals
This also provides your unit and the marketing office an opportunity to audit your old or current content and to look at your Google Analytics report.
Finally, you should also sign-up for web content training to optimize your current content and make sure you have all the tools necessary to access and update your site in the future.
Resources:
Day 1: Kick-off meeting
This meeting informs the Marketing Office of your project, goals and resources. After this meeting, you should be able to provide a site map, the table of contents of your website. This list of your different pages and subpages helps us to understand how you prioritize and organize your content.
This meeting can also include a discussion on your home page and the modules which will drive traffic to the pages of your site that help you achieve your goals.
This step gives the Marketing Office the information necessary to build the page architecture of your site and help you organize your content. At this stage, you can give us your soft approval.
Resources:
Day 4: Send content
Please send your content to the Marketing Office in a word document. This includes the information you want to showcase on your website. Don’t overthink this step! We will then take care of reviewing and editing your content to follow UNB’s web standards, without impacting your content.
At this stage, you have hopefully found some photos you like and are considering where they might fit best. Please don't send files in a word document.
We hope you've had time to consider the modules you think will best serve your content. The marketing office can help suggest layouts that will best serve your content.
Instead, you should either:
- send links to UNB’s media library or
- photos through the file sharing service of your choice (OneDrive, UNB File Drop, Dropbox, etc.) or a .zip file
By providing copy and photos, we will create a demo site with most of the functionalities of your final website. You will then be able to share it with your colleagues and give us your feedback.
Resources:
Related: Common web mistakes
Day 9: Review the demo
After UNB’s web team builds the pages based on your site map, content and photos, you will be able to review your site. We recommend reviewing your website content’s accuracy and relevance.
Be careful not to overthink each element of your website as these can always be updated throughout the process. We engage units and consolidate their feedback to move the website forward.
We can ease the back-and-forth exchanges by setting up a one-on-one meeting to discuss edits to your site demo.
Day 11: Final feedback deadline
In order to launch your website within this timeframe, this should be the final day for sending urgent feedback. Use this step to submit crucial pieces of information for your audience, rather than small pieces of hidden information for users.
This leaves plenty of time to take care of the pre-launch tasks, including:
- Archiving your old site
- Combing through your new site for technical-related issues
- Preparing a seamless transition and launch
- Making sure users can still search and access your site through Google
Day 13: Launch
Here you are! Your new site is ready and live!
UNB’s Marketing Office will make sure to be available throughout the day of the launch to assist with tasks and edits. The work isn’t over as now that your site is live; you can build from the launch, monitor your audience and analytics.
In summary
The web isn’t static and the refreshed version of your site won’t be the definitive one! Small details such as good preparation, communication and collaboration with the Marketing Office means you can refresh your UNB website in less than two weeks and be ready to update and build on it!
- Jean-Étienne Sheehy, Web Copy Writer
Learn more
Want to learn more about writing for the web? Contact us at digital@unb.ca. We’re here to help!