How Extension's website gets done

Have you ever wondered how Extension's websites get done? Well wonder no more! Today we are giving you a peek behind the scenes--the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Back in 2018, we did a major website redesign and platform upgrade. It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of a project. We came together around a common goal and got it done. High fives all around!

And then, post-launch, we all gradually retreated back to our quarters. We got together once a month and barreled through need-to-know information. Hmmmm... we thought, we can do better!

So in the summer of 2019, we decided to try something different. We pulled several full-time web editors/developers into ONE TEAM and we placed this team in BOTH Communications and ELT. We call it "The Web Team." I know, it's an amazing name.

One of the first things we did was sort out what The Web Team is responsible for. This was much easier said than done! ha.

• Extension web leadership: Provide web direction, leadership, governance and appropriate staffing, and prioritize projects.
• Development and design: Build and enhance Extension's Drupal sites, blogs and web applications.
• Infrastructure and security: Maintain secure and modern platforms and web processes.
• Web effectiveness and marketing: Measure website according to set metrics and goals, and optimize search.
• Content strategy: Use consistent strategy and best practices for web writing, content selection, multimedia use, platform selection and content review.
• User experience and accessibility: Measure and improve all users' ability to find, use and access information on Extension websites.
• Help and consulting: Document all Extension web processes and guidelines. Create sustainable internal and external systems. 

Then (surprise) we made a website, about websites! https://myextension.umn.edu/websites (login required)

So what have we accomplished so far?

1. We have completed 125 web "tasks" (updates, edits, news, events, etc) submitted by content owners so far this year. Average time to complete is 1 day.
2. We have freshened up the home page, the most visited page on our site, to be more dynamic and news focused.
3. We have dashboards available to show Extension content owners information about their visitors and measure engagement goals across the site.

Stay tuned to hear lots more behind-the-scenes as we work on new Local Sites, a new staff directory application, improved event searching, and more!

What ideas do you have for Extension's websites? We'd love to hear them!