Making YOUR WEBSITE MORE EFFECTIVE Website Evaluation & Usability. September 20 th, 2008

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1 Making YOUR WEBSITE MORE EFFECTIVE Website Evaluation & Usability September 20 th,

2 Part I Site Content Basics: a Checklist PART II Evaluation & Usability PART III A Resource for You 3 3

3 Part I Site Content Basics, a Checklist 4 4

4 Keep in mind... WEB = PRIMARY TOOL for researching graduate programs So... the quality of your website can make a big difference 5 5

5 To be a successful tool for students, faculty and staff, your website needs: Content that captures interest. 6 6

6 To be a successful tool for students, faculty and staff, your website needs: Content that captures interest. Content that answers basic questions. 7 7

7 To be a successful tool for students, faculty and staff, your website needs: Content that captures interest. Content that answers basic questions. Content that encourages people to contact you, and makes it easy. So

8 Make a good first impression! Most websites serve many audiences. There are eight basic things you can do to sharpen the quality and utility of your website for all viewers. 9 9

9 1. Use the AGEP acronym and logo. AGEP has gained national recognition. Take advantage of that! The logo is available at

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13 2. Put the most basic information up front. Give viewers an orientation at first glance

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18 3. Keep your audience in mind. and make it easy for viewers to get the information they ll be looking for. A student s perspective: What is the program about? What is the research focus? What faculty could they work with? 19 19

19 A faculty member s perspective: What recruitment and retention resources are available? Are they easy to access? A staff member s perspective: What resources are available for program management? For sharing ideas and successes? 20 20

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24 4. Offer a FAQS page

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26 5. Give your program a human face. Provide links to faculty bios and current student information

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29 AC SBE Alliance UNC Chapel Hill 30 30

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31 6. Provide critical contact information for actual people. Make it easy for viewers to contact a real, live person and get their questions answered

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36 7. Provide up-to-date information. And links. AND... make sure the links work

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41 8. And finally... Link to and

42 PART II Website Evaluation & Usability 43 43

43 Website Statistics Why gather web statistics? Assess your web presence Generate graphics and figures to demonstrate your web presence in reports & evaluations Identify areas for website improvement ex. Generating more traffic on specific pages Identifying pages that generate errors 44 44

44 Website Statistics Volume of Traffic Visits A visit happens when someone accesses your site in a browser. A Person can register multiple visits by leaving your site and then coming back again at a later time. Page views A visitor generates one page view each time he/she accesses a unique page on your website. One visitor can generate multiple page views in a single visit. Page hits The number of files sent from the webserver to the user s browser. Each page view can generate multiple hits. Bandwidth Usage The amount of data transferred to or from the web server 45 45

45 Website Statistics Other Statistics IP Addresses of people visiting your site Page errors Users browsers Users operating systems Many others statistics possible, depending upon the analytics software available to you 46 46

46 Sample Summary Report 47 47

47 Sample Summary Report 48 48

48 Information on Website Users 49 49

49 120, ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 IBP Family of Integrated Sites Nov June 2008 Visits Page Views 50 Jul-05 Nov-05 Mar-06 Jul-06 Nov-06 Mar-07 Jul-07 Nov-07 Mar-08 Mar-05 Nov-04 Jul-04 Mar-04 Nov-03 50

50 Web Analytics Software Packages Your University or web hosting company likely offers website tracking software such as: -Surf Stats - Google Analytics (free) - Urchin (by Google) -Omniture - WebTrends 51 51

51 Usability Assessment Goal: To assure easy access of relevant information to your target audience Focus Groups Interviews Web, , or hard copy survey 52 52

52 Usability Assessment Preparation: Identify your website s target usergroups Examples: Prospective Students Current Students Faculty Administrators Program Alumni Funders 53 53

53 Usability Assessment Preparation: Identify core goals of your site Examples Draw prospective students to the program Provide information necessary for applying to the program Provide central location for program contact information Connect current students with Alumni Provide up-to-date events and news associated with the program 54 54

54 Focus Groups or Individual Interviews 3 9 participants (generally a group as small as 5 identifies at least 85% of usability problems Include representatives from each of your website s usergroups Take excellent notes and consider tape-recording sessions Ask targeted questions that relate to your core website goals Ask open-ended questions soliciting suggestions for improvement Ask what shouldn t be on the site as well as what should, and what doesn t work as well as what does Keep focus groups/interviews to under an hour 55 55

55 Web, , or hard copy survey 10 or more participants Include representatives from each of your website s usergroups Ask targeted questions that relate to your core website goals Ask open-ended questions soliciting suggestions for improvement Ask what shouldn t be on the site as well as what should, and what doesn t work as well as what does Keep surveys short 56 56

56 Iterative Design Process DATA MANAGEMENT AND SECURITY Data is gathered, organized, backed up and protected, and constantly updated. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT *THE SITE IS REGULARLY IMPROVED* Staff assess audience needs CONTENT DEVELOPMENT *THE SITE IS CONSTANTLY UPDATED* Databases: programs, Events, Partners, Contacts, Student Profiles, News, Idea Exchange THE SITE IS PROMOTED, PROMOTED, PROMOTED Through persistent distribution of trifolds and flyers, inclusion on all materials, and constant mention in workshops, presentations and s IBP RECEIVES FEEDBACK THE SITE IS UTILIZED (27,000 + visits in January 2008) Presents up to date information, targeted to specific audiences, in a user friendly interface Prospective Students Fill Out Online Form, Supply Data If users visit a site and don t find what they re looking for, find it out of date, or experience usability difficulties, THEY DON T COME BACK. Files are accessed and/or downloaded by students, PIs, etc.. Website Stats, Communication with PIs, Students, etc

57 PART III A Resource for You 58 58

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59 agep.us: Profiles highlighting AGEP successes 60 60

60 agep.us: Events related to STEM education Post Events Online at:

61 agep.us: News related to STEM education Submit your news items to be posted:

62 agep.us: Partners Directory 63 63

63 Link to Us! Let us promote your programs, events, news & students as part of the STEM network! During the 2008 Spring Semester, we had 30,000 visits/month to our family of sites! Send us your: Student and Faculty Profiles Program Success Stories News Events Ideas and Best Practices 64 Link to Agep.us for: Events News Profiles Best Practices and Resources 64

64 Let us promote your programs, events, news & students as part of the STEM network! During the 2008 Spring Semester, we had 30,000 visits/month to our family of sites! Use our online web forms to send us news & events:

65 The Institute for Broadening Participation Contact us with Questions: P.O. Box 607 Damariscotta, ME