Websites are not unlike homes. When left unattended, when not maintained, they develop clutter and slide into decay. Unlike our homes, a website is open to the public, anytime, anywhere. We do a lot of cleaning and organizing if we have people visiting our home in order to give our visitors the best impression and experience. Now imagine that every day dozens or hundreds or thousands of people you are trying to impress walk through your house. That is exactly what is happening on your website.

Giving visitors the wrong impression: apathy and inactivity

The website informs prospective students or donors on Augsburg’s various programs and activities, but it also tries to go beyond this information to something deeper: getting them to like Augsburg and make them want to be a part of it. Websites that are cluttered with unnecessary information, difficult to navigate, or lacking up-to-date content, all send a message of apathy and/or inactivity. The website visitor feels, even if only subconsciously, “This organization or department does not care enough about me to make sure their website has the information I need, and this department must not be doing very much, because their most recent news is a year old.”

15 minutes, once a month

Everyone knows regular cleaning and maintenance makes the job easier. I know you are busy and have a number of other things to be doing, but our website is important. Even if your department’s website is small and simple, with no need for new content very often, you should take 15 minutes at least once a month to review your website. Look at every page, click on every link.

You are not alone

Remember that the Marketing department is here to help. You have a better idea of what is happening in your department, so we need you to be checking your website often and knowing when something needs to be updated. But when it comes to adding new content or cleaning up your existing content, you are not alone in making that happen. We want to help you give your website’s visitors a good experience, and help them find what they need. Send a project request to Marketing for help in this.