Website

There are many things to consider as to why a department or unit should (or shouldn't) create a website. No web presence at all can be preferable to a poorly managed presence.

You might consider creating a website for your department or unit if:

• You need to communicate with external audiences; and
• You need a public presence for your department or unit; and
• You need your information to be findbable via a search engine such as Google; and
• You have content to fill several pages of a website; the content is too much to include in a Google Doc or other document format; and
• You have someone who can create and regularly maintain the website.

You might not consider creating a website for your department or unit if:

• The content could be put on a Google Doc and you can share the public link with your audiences; or
• The content fits on the Carlson website, keeping in mind that the primary audience of that site is prospective students; or
• You do not have someone who can create and regularly maintain the website.

Think of the resources you’ll need.
Time and content are the primary resources necessary for a website. First, you’ll need to outline the pages you need on your site. Then, you’ll need to organize them into a navigation structure (known as a sitemap). After those steps, you will create content (copy, images, links, etc.) for each page. Once you launch the site, you’ll need to maintain it regularly to keep the content up to date, making updates at least once per quarter. This helps your visitors get accurate information and also signals to search engines that the site is frequently updated and a trusted source of information. Given the time it takes to build and maintain a site, does it seem sustainable? 

Make sure your content will be robust and complete.
Many pages compose a website. Ensure you have enough content to justify an entire website. Write out all of the content in a Google Doc, add links and find the images you will use. You can get general Carlson images in Photoshelter.

Define your target audience.
Websites typically have 1 or 2 target audiences. Who are you trying to reach: Prospective students, current students, students' families, alums, faculty and staff, the local community? It’s important to identify and narrow in on a target audience so you can tailor your content accordingly.

Think through your content management.
Before you start creating the site, determine who will be responsible for making content updates. If it’s multiple people, how will you split the responsibilities? If the people involved leave or become unavailable, who will step in their place? Do you need someone in your department to approve content before it’s published? Websites need to be updated regularly (at least once a quarter).

Keep the site up to date.
To ensure that your audience is getting accurate information, you must regularly update the information on your website. There are 2 types of regular updates:

• Make updates when changes happen: For example, did your office location change? Make sure to update that on your website.
• Have a content calendar to review webpages on a regular basis: Regularly (once a quarter) review all pages to make sure the content is accurate. Make updates if needed.

Follow brand guidelines.
Review the Carlson visual identity information. Use brand logos, fonts and colors to create a consistent and cohesive look with the University and Minnesota Carlson. We have branded image templates in the pro version of Canva that you can add to your emails. To purchase a subscription to Canva Pro, contact Nick Khow ([email protected]).

Ensure webpages and content are accessible.
Digital accessibility is important for people with disabilities to be able to fully access our content. You are responsible for ensuring the information you put on a website meets digital accessibility requirements and laws. It is incumbent upon you to ensure that the content and information being presented can work with the end user’s accessibility tools. For example, ensure that images have proper alternative (alt) text, ensure that text is contained on the page itself (i.e., it can be copied and pasted) vs. being put into an image/JPEG file that a screen reader cannot read, etc. Learn more about website accessibility.

Carlson website templates in Drupal have been designed for accessibility. Even though the templates are formatted for accessibility, you still need to use them appropriately to ensure compliance. 

Maintain a quality user experience.
Ensure that websites do not have typos, broken links, outdated information, etc. Do not post any inappropriate or unprofessional information, private/sensitive data, profane/disrespectful language or images, etc.

A large percentage of users access websites on mobile devices, thus it is important to create web content that work across different device types. One way to do that is to check on your own device or resize your browser to the size of a mobile phone. All images, text and content blocks should scale and adapt for mobile screens. It’s best practice, when feasible, to test web pages on multiple browsers/devices.

Google Sites are a great option if you have limited website experience and you want a tool with templates. You can use an x500 account to create a Google Site. 

• For personal websites: If only you will maintain and edit the website (e.g., you are a faculty member who wants to create a site for a course), you can create it in your own UMN Google account.
• For shared websites: If the website is for a department, center, unit, etc., and will be edited by multiple people, create it in your departmental account (e.g., [email protected]). This departmental account will be the owner of the site. This ensures continued access when someone leaves the University. If an individual is the owner of a Google Site and they leave the University, the site will be deleted.

The Marketing & Communications team offers a Canvas training course on Google Sites (available upon request), or you can learn more editing Google Sites directly from Google.

Drupal is a powerful content management system that we use for the Carlson website. There is a simpler version of Drupal known as Drupal Lite. The University provides the Folwell Design System that adheres to University branding and gives templates for key web page content like tables, accordions, callout boxes and more. These tools make building a website faster and easier and provide a consistent user experience with other UMN sites. 

Request a Drupal Lite site

This tool is used for the Minnesota Carlson website. It is robust and extensive, which is needed for the Minnesota Carlson site but not for other sites at the school.