Choosing Content and Functionality

This is the first in a series of articles on Web best practices. In upcoming issues we will cover: The Art of Writing for the Web; Web Design Do’s and Don’ts;  and Managing Your Website’s Content.

In any website design or re-design project, deciding what to include as content and online functionality is step number one. For most organizations, this is simply a matter of answering four questions:

1. Who Is Our Audience?

Before you can answer the question, “what,” you need to start by asking, “who.” Who are you hoping to reach, inform, and interact with through your website?

Are you a senior living provider? If so, is the idea to connect with referral sources? Residents and their families? Prospective residents? Staff? Volunteers? Members of the public? Or, all of the above? 

Is your organization a trade or professional association? If so, are you trying to reach members? Legislators and regulators? A grass roots constituency? Or, all of the above?

Or, are you part of the aging services network? In that case, your target audiences may include seniors who are living independently, family caregivers for seniors who are more frail, donors and possible funding sources, your peer organizations in the community . . . or all of the above.

Since every organization is different, web planning needs to begin with a clear appreciation of who it is your website is meant to serve.

2. How Will They Use Your Website?

Almost any information or resource you can deliver in print or in person you can also publish to your website. So, start with a quick inventory of the types of information, resources, and online functions you could include. Then, decide which are most important. Visit our website to see a web content and functionality checklist.

And, if you want to know what your target audience will value, ask them. Survey Monkey, Zoomerang, Constant Contact, and a handful of other online survey tools make the process quick, easy, and inexpensive. Visit our website to see sample surveys for health care and aging services and associations.

3. Is It In Our Budget?

Online content and functionality tend to be much less expensive than their printed and in-person counterparts. But they are not free. So, make sure your web planning is consistent with the budget you have to work with.

Ask your web developer for a cost breakdown and the flexibility to include some elements now, and defer others until later.

And be sure your website is designed with future growth in mind. Web communication continues to evolve at a rapid pace, so your website should be able to grow over time as your audience's need and expectations evolve. Web planning is as much about tomorrow as it is about today!

4. Can We Keep It Current?

Finally, before you decide to include a particular type of content or online function, think about what it will take to keep that content or functionality up to date. You wouldn’t start a print newsletter or commit to a community education series without knowing who is going to write the articles or present the workshops. It’s no different for your website. Excellent content is almost never static – it’s content that is continually revised, updated, and added to. Ask yourself: is it better to have no calendar or newsletter as part of your website . . . or one that’s obviously out of date?

A multitude of tools and best practices can make it easy to manage and update your web content - and we'll cover those in future articles in this series. The point here is simply that a smart web plan takes into consideration the complexity of your various content options and what it will take to keep them fully up to date.