Websites
Make your online presence count.
The framework and foundation of your website should, first and foremost follow the guidelines as outlined by our Wake Forest Digital Communications. This will help ensure that your website, in its framework and foundation, is in good standing according to the university’s standards. See below for specific resources available through our University Marketing and Communications (UMC) team. The Divison of Campus Life Marcomms team will offer guidance and maintenance assistance to our departments for a UX experience that centers the Wake Forest student experience, according to each department/unit. Need help? Submit a request to our team.
SiteImprove
Siteimprove provides complete visibility across your website’s content quality and performance. Simply put, the tool evaluates your site and shows you how to make it better. This is an easy way to complete an audit of your website to ensure that your content and site organization are consistent with university standards. Measured by quality assurance tools, accessibility reports, and web analytics, the tool is available to WFU faculty and staff who manage website content for their unit.
Website Best Practices
Your website should be well-organized and designed with an easy user experience in mind. This means that it should be easy for your audience to navigate your site and find up-to-date, relevant information. We recommend the university’s WordPress Guide to ensure your site meets our brand standards and accessibility requirements.
WordPress Training & Resources
Need help? Our university’s WordPress team offers a training guide and opportunities to sign up for live training. You might also find the answers to your questions in the pre-recorded trainings that are available. If you need additional assistance, we recommend submitting a request form with your specific needs.
This ensures that your website is correctly built, organized, and maintained according to the university’s brand standards, that it is healthy, and that it is easy for your audience to use.
It also informs the next steps that are specific to your unit’s website. The Divison of Campus Life recommends the following strategy for departmental websites:
Each department/unit under the Division of Campus Life exists to serve a specific need for students. Start here first, and identify your top three reasons or ways your specific unit serves students. This should act as your framework for building/maintaining your sitemap. It will help inform what content is a priority and what content might actually be a barrier for students as they interact with your site.
Know your audience, then build a UX journey specific to them. As a department or unit under the Division of Campus Life, your audience will likely be students first and foremost. But consider which students and/or other groups might frequent your site most. Undergraduate and graduate students? Specific student leader groups or student organizations? Parents and families? Faculty and staff connected to your work? Consider how certain groups, but primarily students, might need to interact with your
The goals you set for your website should be in alignment with the goals you have for your department. We recommended having three (3) high-level SMART goals for your website that you can successfully track and assess. The goals you set will determine where your focus should be when updating and maintaining your website. This could vary from seasonal pages (during a specific or peak time for your office) to metrics you‘d like to track throughout the year to inform your office’s operations and/or communications of those operations.
The story you tell on your website informs your audience of their “why.” Once you’ve completed the aforementioned steps, telling your story/ their “why” will become much clearer. Your website’s content and copy should tell your department or unit’s story in a way that connects your office to their student experience in both a necessary and impactful way. This will be reflected in your design and layout, website copy, chosen imagery, and where and what information is included for students according to their needs.
Building your website is one thing. Ensuring your website is where it needs to be according to the student life cycle is another. A good rule of thumb is to ensure that you complete regular audits and assessments of your site and make any necessary adjustments to ensure a continued high-quality experience for your end user (s). This could range from broken links and outdated information/content to more attention to specific pages according to seasonal processes in your department or unit. SiteImprove is a great tool to help with this ongoing step!
For more help, we recommend submitting a request to our UMC team or our Campus Life Marketing and Communications team.