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September/October, 2007
Web traffic drives IASB.com redesign
Jim Russell, IASB director of communications, answers the question for this issue.
Question: Your new Web site looks nice, but I don't know how to find what I want. And why would you have a section for parents or the news media? Isn't this site intended for board members?
Answer: We certainly tried to make it "look nice." A lot of work went into the design to create an image that was immediately identifiable as IASB.com. Design choices help determine the "feel" of a Web site and allow for a consistency as the viewer navigates from page to page.
Placement of navigation tools is also a factor in Web site design. The five blue links at the top of the home page were placed there so that most if not all of the essential services that IASB members need and want are immediately accessible.
The additional links in the blue column along the left side of the home page were chosen to group information and services in categories (Member Districts, Events Calendar, Annual Conference, Staff, etc.) of databases, documents and other files that are commonly familiar to and used by many current IASB online users.
This design also allowed two new categories — Parents/Public and News Media/Press — to be created. These links are intended to help anyone from the public or news media learn more about the Association and what school board service is all about. While the primary purpose of IASB.com is to serve its members, the Web site also serves as the Association's "front door." To that end, we can also reach prospective school board members and promote the Association's mission: "Excellence in local school governance and support of public education."
The new home page also serves another purpose, which is to highlight the latest information and resources available online. This space allows for cover art, graphics and expanded descriptions of any new content, such as the latest issues of the Journal and Newsbulletin, upcoming workshops, Alliance reports, etc., without requiring the viewer to scroll down too far.
"Quick Links" is another new feature added to the home page. This "pull-down" menu in the upper left contains 10 of the Association's most widely used online links. Our monthly Web traffic data shows, for example, that 766 visitors in July 2007 used IASB.com to find listings of current superintendent vacancies in Illinois.
Web traffic data played a significant part in redesign decisions. The data shows that the 1,600-plus pages that IASB hosts on its Web site appeal to a broad spectrum of users — more than 10,000 every month — many of whom arrive via third party search engines. Others know exactly what they want, often relying on personal "bookmarks" to enter and leave IASB.com from the same page, without meandering too far off their intended course.
The most effective Web sites are those that combine the appropriate blend of design, function and content. Whether IASB has found the right mix is up to you, the user/viewer. Rest assured we are not abandoning our print products or the publications you receive in the mail. We do hope and pledge, however, that IASB's online content functions as a useful complement to the services our members need and want, while giving the world at large a peek into the great work you do for public education and the vital role you play in local school governance.
IASB.com will be an evolving work in progress, so stay tuned. We will strive to stay current with technology while building on this repository of relevant content that superintendents, board members, secretaries, and others can use and rely on.
If you want to keep up on the latest content posted to the IASB Web site, please sign up for our free electronic newsletter, "Online Update," by clicking: http://www.iasb.com/elinks.cfm. And if you have questions or comments about the new Web site, please go to: http://www.iasb.com/feedback.cfm. Your opinions are most welcome.