Managing a large multiauthor site

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Managing a large multi-author site
Ian Bartlett and Trish Richards Educational
Liaison, UCL
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Presentation Aims

• www.ucl.ac.uk/admission/cms
• Educational Liaison/Prospective Students site
• Content updates before CMS
• Benefits of CMS for a large site
• Updating site using the CMS
• Content auditing and workflow
• Updating a page live demonstration
• Future developments

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Educational Liaison
Ian Bartlett Student Recruitment Publications
and Web Trish Richards International Office
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Prospective Students website
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Prospective Students website

• One click from UCL home page
• Large site includes information for all student
  groups (UG, PG, International, WP etc.)
• Primary first point-of-contact with Prospective
  Students (used like UG and PG Prospectuses)
• Provides overview of UCL and links together all
  information important to prospective students
• Needs to be largely consistent with printed
  information, otherwise trust is lost
• Content must be audited for accuracy and style
  (complies with UCL policy)

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(No Transcript)
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Updating the site before CMS

• Two SRPW staff responsible for managing and
  physically updating site
• Responsibility for content split across various
  sections of Educational Liaison
• Content updates factored into annual work plans
• EL section staff would update content and pass to
  Web staff for auditing, amending and uploading
• Time-consuming, cumbersome and frustrating

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Benefits of using the CMS?

• Doesnt require special software or skills for
  updating pages
• Anyone can author content provided they have an
  account with appropriate privileges
• Content owners can update web pages themselves
• Content can be audited and proofed by site
  editor(s) via system of authors, editors and
  managers
• Avoids duplication of work
• Embeds web within general student recruitment work

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Content updates using the CMS

• Updates made via web browser
• Author navigates to page they wish to update
• Enter edit screen
• Update page
• Submit page to editor for approval
• Editor approves/rejects. Both actions trigger
  e-mail to author

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Content Auditing and Workflow

• Why Audit
• Very important that information is accurate
• Information must be consistent across formats
  trust issue
• Most Educational Liaison staff set up with Author
  privileges
• SRPW staff designated as Editors
• E-mail to Editor triggered when author submits
  page
• Editor can approve page or reject it. Both
  actions trigger an e-mail to inform author of
  action taken.
• Older versions of documents are stored can
  compare new with old on screen
• As site grows, can have multiple editors.

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Demonstration
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Country Information site
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Structure of a Page

• Pages made up of various elements
• Main Content (index)
• Right hand column (index_right)
• Left hand column (index_left)
• Contact Information (contacts)
• Any images to be used
• All sits in template
• Colours, fonts, sizes and overall look set in
  style sheets (set by editor) and Attributes file
  (uclattributes)

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Template
menu
contacts
index_left
index_right
index
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Basic Page Update

• Navigate in web browser to page you wish to
  update
• Click on cross icon to open edit screen
• Enter UCL username and password
• Look for file called index (usually at top)
• In modify column, click name of file (index)
• Click on New Version to edit
• Trish to demonstrate
• non-technical user
• no previous experience of web page creation

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Future Developments

• Issues
• Consistency between formats required
• SITS implementation
• Aim to reduce workload on departmental staff
• Re-use data where possible
• Parallel Publishing
• allows print (Quark) and web publications to be
  linked to a central database
• Update in one format is fed through to the others
• Currently being piloted on Study Abroad Guide
• Some issues with data structure and Quark coding.

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Conclusion

• Simple to use
• Allows auditing and checking
• Reduces overall workload staff resources
• Allows comparison of page versions
• Frees up web staff time for site development
• Ensures consistency of style
• Sitestat tracking built in to templates easier
  to monitor how site is used
• Opens up the web to non-technical users
• Any questions..?