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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t always look like this. Before we did this work the pages were produced using Dreamweaver, rather than our Web CMS (Content Management System), using a template which had become dated. The colour scheme had very much had its day, and the site wasn\u2019t achieving what it needed to do: presenting the information that staff and students need in a clear and accessible way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the Equality team came to us to ask for a review and update of their webpages, we took an initial look at their pages, and it was immediately clear that there was a lot of clutter. This included information that was no longer needed either because it was out of date or because it duplicated content that was held elsewhere on the University website. This isn\u2019t unusual, and it wasn\u2019t a failure on the part of those managing the pages \u2013 websites grow organically and there isn\u2019t always an opportunity to review older content when you\u2019re adding important new information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the first task was to prune the existing pages and, fortunately for us, the Equality team undertook this work. We agreed on a structure for the website, and started to share the existing content that would migrate and the new content that needed to be created. At the same time, the Equality team were working with our photographer Alex Holland on a number of photoshoots to illustrate the new pages and to be used on other material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We kept talking and sharing comments throughout the project; building a good working relationship with a common goal has been crucial to this project. At intervals, we also reported to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and took on board their feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the pages were ready to be tested, the Equality team recruited a group of volunteers \u2013 some with specific accessibility requirements \u2013 to help with pre-launch accessibility and usability testing, and to provide general feedback. Their comments on the new pages were largely positive, but their attention to detail helped us to identify a number of changes to make before we launched the pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve separated the pages into two sections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This mirrors the split we have elsewhere between information and function (eg admissions information for potential students is separate from information about the Student Recruitment and Admissions team).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the site, the focus is on giving priority to the information that matters most to our staff and students; so practical information about inclusive facilities features higher up the page than more corporate information about equality law and data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We worked with our user experience (UX) designers to ensure good usability of the pages. Our standard Web CMS templates are designed to work well with a range of devices (eg tablets, phones, laptops) and with screen readers. In addition, there\u2019s currently work ongoing to improve the accessibility of the University website<\/a> which means that the templates will continue to be updated to ensure best practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Page content is key to creating usable web pages. We\u2019ve reduced the word count as far as possible, and rewritten content in the active voice and first\/second person voice. And because PDFs can be a problem for usability, we\u2019ve replaced existing PDFs with web pages wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re keeping an eye on the page usage statistics to check that they\u2019re being used and to assess how long people stay on pages \u2013 are they following links elsewhere, staying long enough to read the page, or just looking and leaving? An early assessment suggests that the pages are being viewed more than the previous version, and that people are moving on quickly from pages that are mainly links, and staying longer on pages where there\u2019s more to read. That\u2019s not groundbreaking information, but it suggests that we\u2019ve got things right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n * Unique visits refers to the number of times the pages have been accessed by different people – if one person accesses the pages repeatedly from their desktop PC, they are only counted once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/marketing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/10\/Screenshot_2019-10-03-The-University-of-York-Equality-and-Diversity-Office-1024x757.png?resize=1024%2C757&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow did we get there?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Structure, layout and usability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What now?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Site<\/strong><\/td> Date range<\/strong><\/td> Unique
visits*<\/strong><\/td>Time on page<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Old Equality &
Diversity page<\/td>7-24 September
2019<\/td>146<\/td> 1 minute 13 <\/td><\/tr> New Equality &
Diversity
Office page<\/td>7-24 October
2019<\/td>122<\/td> 25 seconds<\/td><\/tr> New Equality,
Diversity &
Inclusion page<\/td>7-24 October
2019<\/td>1070<\/td> 1 minute 54 <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
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