Florida International University has hundreds of websites spread across its schools and colleges. As FIU's web content grows in scope and prominence, it's more important than ever for every content-creating Panther to be pulling in the same direction.
Cascade CMS
All websites managed by the Office of Digital Communications are built on Cascade CMS, a content management system by Hannon Hill.
FIU Template
The FIU template was developed by the DigiComm team for use on the Cascade CMS. The template is based on the Pantera Design System and serves as the foundation of new features being added to FIU websites. DigiComm's Core Resources Hub is a great place to learn more about the template and ways to use it for web content creation.
Office of Digital Communications
From initial content strategy for a brand-new website to audits of existing websites, the DigiComm team is here to help create, expand or review your FIU website. Head over to their FIU Web Design & Development Services page if you want to see examples of their work or wish to make use of their services.
Tips for writing web content
Before you begin, you need to ask yourself three important questions:
Who is your audience?
There may be more than one. By identifying specific groups of users engaging with your content, you can keep your content from being voiceless and generic.
What do they need?
You need to figure out what you want them to do or take away from your content. If they need to find a particular item, your content should be guiding them toward that item.
What is the goal?
Each piece of content needs to be doing something. Whether you're steering applicants toward a program or building hype for a football game, keeping a goal in mind will keep your content focused.
Once you have a plan, it's time to get creating. Creating content for the web follows the same basic rules as other content we have covered in this brand guide.
Make it easy to read.
The average user has an attention span of five seconds. That means you have five seconds to catch their attention. Intimidating? Sure, but it's not hard with easy-to-read content.
Making your content easy to read is all about organization and plain language. The more you avoid dense blocks of text and complicated terminology, the faster you will grab (and hold) your users' attention!
This square is a good example of easy reading. In one module, you have a heading to direct your attention, short paragraphs to prevent the "wall of text" effect and no complex language to confuse readers.
Make it easy to use.
An especially important rule for web content with interactive items, ease of use is about making sure your users always know what they are interacting with during engagement.
A common example of something that is not easy to use is linked text that does not inform users where it is going if they click it. A line of text telling you to "Click here for more information" is not properly informing you of your future destination.
The solution to this is just being honest. Is your button taking users to an application? Name it "Apply now" or "Apply to this program!" Did you make a link for an upcoming event? Put the name of the event in the link in case they hover over it in an email!
Make it compliant.
As an ambassador of the FIU brand, you must follow regulations and styling conventions established by the university. Doing so is everyone's responsibility whenever they create content.
FIU's accessibility guidelines are the most important compliance requirement for text and multimedia alike. Creating content with accessibility in mind from the start means fewer audits down the road and better engagement for your material.
For style, you should always be referring to the FIU Style Guide to ensure your high-quality ideas follow the high-quality standards set by the university.
Using images in your web content
Does your web content need an image? Or do you just want an image?
Much of the thought process behind creating web content involves tying together many forms of media into a single, cohesive website or page. On some pages, text, images and videos might have different shares of importance. There may even be some web content that only involves one!
In other words, try to avoid including things just for the sake of including them. Being mindful of our multimedia choices will always result in a better user experience, better brand identity and better content.
Be honest.
Wanting to show off the things we do at the university is a natural goal for content creators. When we create content for the web, it might be tempting to pick out the most incredible imagery available to really drive home the incredible nature of our work.
However, what if the content we are making is grounded? What if we are advertising a small coffee hour for students from a specific college? In that case, it might be better to use images or videos of students drinking coffee and doing homework than the president of FIU shaking hands with world-class researchers.
Less is more.
The dynamicism of visual content makes it almost mandatory to break up long pieces of text with images and videos. In the process, we can even sometimes go a little overboard. Every piece of multimedia in our web content is adding a lot to the page. That means we have to be careful and restrained in how much we decide to include.
This can refer to how much we want to be showing in our visuals or the number of visuals themselves. One or two images might be all that we need for emphasis, while ten images might overload the page and cause users to stop reading!
Looking to create or improve a website?
The Office of Digital Communications is here to help. If you want to create a new website, consider starting a web project with the DigiComm team. Or, if you're looking for assistance with an existing website, don't hesitate to submit a request via our ticket system.