One phrase that drives the work of our team is, “Content comes first.” We frequently say that “Content is king,” and “Content before design.” Clearly, content is a pretty important thing when it comes to a website.
Content is used to describe the words, images, buttons, tables, and other information on your site. Quality web content is essential. We have to provide clear, concise, and accurate information that supports the goals of the university. The best pictures and design in the world won’t matter if your site has outdated information, broken links, and confusing jargon.
Before we can design and launch a new web theme, we must review and update the content on our 200+ sites. It would be pointless to have an updated, modern design but with irrelevant and outdated information. That would result in a negative online experience for future and current students.
Imagine you’re a young adult and you’re curious about what degree you could get at UA Little Rock. You visit ualr.edu and search for a particular degree program. You’re hoping to read a little more about this program and maybe find out how you can get in touch with a professor. You’re curious about scholarships too. But then imagine that the text on the program page is confusing and hard to understand. You click on a link to email a professor but the link is broken (because that professor hasn’t worked here in seven years). When you go to the paragraph about scholarships, you read that the deadline to apply is March 1, 2009.
These are examples of content issues that have been found on our website. But these things can be fixed, and now is the time to do it. We’re here to help you in this process. We can all collaborate and ensure that our university website is meeting the needs of our students, faculty, staff, and community.
Here is some more information about conducting a content audit and why it’s an essential part of a redesign.