Context

I have created several websites while employed at IMG, most of which have a defined template (usually the Auburn templates). For example, I adopted and edited the Office of Information Technology's template for IMG's website. I also took an open source Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) template available online and applied it to IMG's blog, IMGconnect. These CSS designs are empty webpages free to use, much like a template in Word or Publisher. Aside from IMG's internal sites, I used the Auburn templates to create a website for the Administrative and Professional Assembly, as well as the English as a Second Language program.

Adding content to an already created template is different than creating an entire site, design and all. The content given must fit into the space provided. Constraints are present on both ends of what and how information is shown. Each site uses a specific design, so content must fit this design. However, the content for most of the sites was already created. Since design and content were provided, the only control I had over the websites was through thoughtful organization and general formatting changes achieved through seperating the sections to be meaningful to a visitor. I achieved this "by considering the users' needs and their perceptual habits in their work." The sites are split into subjects to promote usability and "fit users, rather than having users adapt to an unfamiliar design." (Baehr) The design and content is set, however I had control over how many pages comprised the site. Separate subjects ensure a user will be able to find the information he or she was after, but also allow futher updates and expansions.

IMG Sites: Audience

The audience and organization for the sites differed depending on who requested the site and who would maintain the site after I finished. For the IMG sites, the audience was primarily faculty or staff interested in IMG's offerings (Blackboard help, seminars, how tos, etc). To help visitors find this information, I organized everything into sections/folders based on subject matter. Every semester, IMG supports one or two more software programs, so the website's organization must be able to accommodate that increase in content.

Although I had almost complete control over the organization for the site, I had to adhere to the authoritative audience's guidelines. If Dr. McClelland did not like a layout or style I used for a particular page, I revised the page until she was satisfied. The design of the site was regulated by the template while the format was overseen by Dr. McClelland. I would format the content as I believed the best for the primary audience, and she would tweak the format as she believed to be best.

IMG Sites: Process

The subject-oriented organizational approach also allowed the programs to be self-contained in separate sections. The information can branch off depending on what IMG offers. For example, the folder/subject usually began with only an overview, but over time may contain help guides, updates, etc. And since the subjects were self-contained into separate folders, I could copy that folder to a flash drive and supply it as offline help material. The IMG blog had a similar approach to organization, but instead of files, the subject-oriented organization dealt with time-specific data. A common blogging tool called "tags" was used to label posts with subject topics.

External Sites: Audience

For the non-IMG sites, the authoritative audience and the future web designer are the same group. The organization I chose must be usable for the person who took over the editing after I finished. I did this by sticking to a minimalistic approach to the file organization. I created the site with as few files as possible, allowing whoever took over to apply their organizational techniques. The task of creating a website varied from site to site due to the design and content. When given both design and content, the backend must be as clean and organized as possible since that is the only aspect of the site I had complete control over. Since another person would take over the site, I had to be as transparent as possible in my organization. The folders used to organize the site must make sense to the next person, but also leave room for development and expansion. Someone who may not know much about webpage design and/or creation would be taking over the job of maintaining the page. The file structure I used combined the provided design and content had to be inherently simple and adaptable for the next user.

External Sites: Process

I usually took an existing page and applied the Auburn template. Most of the data would be on the pages already, so I kept the same layout (more or less). Because I am working within a template for another organization, I'm limited in how information is presented to visitors. My main focus was always to organize the backbone of the site to be easily updated by those taking over. To accomplish this, I created a blank page with the new template then filled in the data to recreate the previous site. When I copy and paste content, I have the ability to re-format the content into the pre-formatted content space. It was a small degree of control, but it often led to better flowing websites.

Reflections

One of the more important aspects of a website is the organization. This becomes crucial for a large, evolving website-- new information comes in, while obsolete information is removed. A subject-based organization for IMG sites or a transparent organization for third-party sites enabled the developer to facilitate an ever shifting website.