CMF hosted a training program for House and Senate staff on how to improve their websites in preparation for the Gold Mouse Project website evaluations this summer. Here are 5 tips from our Q+A with award winning staffers and 5 recommendations from our presentation:
Tips from the Q+A:
- Look at what your visitors use. When making decisions about where to marshal your limited resources, a good place to start is making sure that the most visited page and most used information on your website is up-to-date. Google Analytics is an easy (and free) way to track which pages are most popular and to collect data that will help you best manage your website.
- Persistence pays off. Launching an entirely new website or completely updating it top to bottom is not something that can be done in a day. Instead, plan to focus on your office's website on an ongoing, regular basis - even if it's not daily.
- Focus on content first. Start with the basics - especially if you have limited resources to devote to the task. Can users find information on current policy issues and links to legislation the Member has sponsored and cosponsored? How about casework information? Once you've got a handle on those, then start thinking about ways you can improve your online offerings and widen the audience you reach. One approach that's helpful is thinking of your website like an online office.
- Interns are part of the solution, but not the entire solution. Interns are a great resource for checking the site and assisting in its upkeep, but if they are the only ones in the office focusing on the website, it's probably not going to be enough.
- Repurpose your content. Getting content properly vetted and approved is a process almost all congressional offices struggle with to some degree. Don't make things harder on yourself by creating entirely new content just for your website. Leverage existing approved language from your letter library, floor speeches, and elsewhere. Just remember to cut it down and format it for the web!
And from our presentation, here are 5 of the top 10 things you can do immediately to improve the quality of your website:
- Use your website! Click on every link to make sure they are working properly.
- Test the forms on your website: email form, search feature, etc.
- Update sponsorship and co-sponsorship links.
- Add guidance on how to best communicate with your office.
- Add links to roll call votes.
To see the rest of the 'top 10' from our presentation and see examples from award winning websites, download:
- House training handouts (PDF)
- Senate training handouts (PDF)
