Revise your unit’s mini-site

Before you re-write your website, please contact WebOps so we can help streamline the process to reduce administrative overhead while conforming to regulations and guidelines regarding website content, especially as it pertains to educational institutions, accessibility, and SEO. Content is approved by WebOps management before it can be handed off to a website content editor.

Phase one: clean-up

Contact information

Create this content (or just the changes) using email to directly enter the text, or in an attached Word document. Do not send PDFs or include screenshots. Do copy-and-paste the URL of the page needing updates.

  • Office contact information. Generic information including the office location, phone, email, mailstop, hours. Examples: Enrollment, Admissions. Once posted this format rarely needs maintenance. It also encourages that all contact is made to a central point.
  • Administration and staff contact information. Some offices also want their staff listed, with their tiles and links to contact info. Examples: Grounds. This may not be needed since a link to the online Faculty and Staff Directory is found in the Shortcuts in the header of every page on the website. Photos are not included for administrators and staff (except for leadership roles).
  • Faculty information. Contact information for faculty is usually listed on a separate page with the school or department webpages. Photos are encouraged. The format is governed by the Office of the Provost. Use the faculty profiles form to submit faculty information.
  • Social media. List your social media services and the URLs for portals or other external websites.

Take inventory

  • Sitemap. WebOps will create a sitemap as a spreadsheet and share it on OneDrive. Use this spreadsheet as a starting point to provide WebOps with the information needed prior to meeting about the changes.
  • Content. Sometimes it helps to have printouts of ALL your webpages so you have something to work with and mark-up (and keep as a record). For a better quality printout use a browser plug-in. WebOps recommends using one of the browser plug-ins listed below. 

Delete

Forward the following information to your WebOps content editor.

  • Indicate whole pages or sections of pages that need to be deleted. Delete any programs, initiatives, or sections that have been permanently discontinued. Copy the content to OneDrive first if you think you’ll need it in the future. WebOps does not archive deleted content.

Phase two: new and updated content

Regulations and guidelines

Delete or rewrite any content that violates privacy laws and that may jeopardize FDU’s tax-exempt status.

  • Privacy laws (NJ, California, Europe) affect the use of student names, graduation dates, images, and works.
  • NJ and federal tax-exempt law prevent us from appearing to promote or advertise another product or service. 
  • Forms probably need to be updated to conform to new laws: PDF, TouchNet, Elevate, Office365, Qualtrix, ConstantContact, other?

Ensure that the remaining content adheres to guidelines for American universities.

  • Web Style Guide dictates content guidelines for FDU branding, American English, accessibility, UX (user experience), and SEO.
    • Follow rules for link text and external linking.
  • HEA (Higher Education Act) requires that certain information be available to the public and students.

Best practices

  • Internal links may need to be used to avoid duplication or to enhance SEO.
  • PDF brochures should be converted to webpages, made accessible, or removed from the website.
  • Pages should have 1400 to 2600 words. That is, sub-sections should usually all be on one page rather than broken up into several child pages.

Marketing, technology, and management

  • Who is the primary and/or secondary audience? prospects, current students, graduate applicants, current faculty, local business, donors, a mix?
  • WebOps will create a new sitemap outline to reflect changes. We will work with you to reorganize the structure as needed with the focus on the needs of the website visitor, not the organization of the office. It’s important to keep the new sitemap shallow for ADA, SEO, and general ease-of-use.
  • Help WebOps understand the role of any specialized portals that you use.
  • What is the role of social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc.) for your office?
  • Photography may need to be updated. Make sure we have the right to post the images.
  • Designate a liaison from your office who can authorize content changes.
  • Reveal any deadlines or time away.

Working with the WebOps staff.

Email the WebOps content editor with descriptions of the content to be altered within pages. Always copy-and-paste the URL for the page. Then describe the information to be updated. 

If you only need to add or delete a few words use email. You can copy just the block of content that needs to change (subheading, paragraph, or list), and use strike-through to delete and [brackets] to include new text. Do not use color as it is often indistinguishable if it needs to be printed to a black-and-white laser printer.

Someone in your office will need to write revised or added content at some point. If it is lengthy, use Word. Do not add any fancy formatting, as it will need to be stripped out anyway before it becomes a webpage. If you need to include a link, please enter it in brackets after a description, ex.:

Register for the Workshop [https://fdu.touchnet.net/register/workshop/].

Follow guidelines in the Web Style Guide and American English spelling, grammar, and syntax. We recommend you install Grammarly into your browser.

If your content includes a table, please post it to OneDrive, share it so we can edit it, and provide a link in an email.