Maintaining Your Website
Once a website is live, it must be maintained. This means making sure that all live content on a site is relevant, accurate, and current--and continues to meet users’ needs. Maintenance can range from something as simple as correcting a typo to adding a new widget to highlight a new offering to hiding or deleting outdated content.
Designated Drupal editors should be familiar with the following for their department/program/office:
- The site’s main goals and objectives. What is the key purpose of the site? What key message(s) do we want the audience to walk away with?
- Target audience. Are you writing and presenting content in a way that appeals to your audience? What are the needs of your key audience, and are you meeting those needs?
- Key tasks and calls to action. What tasks are users coming to your site to perform? Are they looking for information? Applying to a program?
How often should I be updating my website?
Websites can appear outdated fast, and nothing turns away visitors more than a website with outdated content, or a website that makes it too difficult for users to do the things we want them to do.
- Establish a schedule to review your site, update your content (including removing outdated content), and make sure all links are working (click all links on your site just to be sure). This timeline will vary depending on your particular site and department or program. Whether it's biweekly, monthly, or by term, block off time in your Outlook calendar as a regular reminder to conduct a website review.
- Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. Can you quickly find information and calls-to-action? Is key information missing?