Web Editing Group October Meeting www.smcoe.org/manager Anne Bartlett, Public Communications Specialist Pat Broderick, Multimedia Designer October 4 and 18, 2018 www.smcoe.org/manager

Agenda Overview Check-in Website Q & A Resources Next Steps Open Work / Individual Check-in If attendees didn’t come to a meeting last month, the Communications team will check in with them during the open work time and bring them up to speed. Depending on how many attend, they may break out as a group.

Overview Website will be refreshed this school year Cleaner design (e.g. less menus) More pictures, less text More intuitive site map Improved accessibility Easier to update Critical for all information to be up-to-date, accurate, and accessible as possible

Web Editing Meetings Two days/times offered each month Agenda will change depending on need: Website Review Best Practices Website Q & A Open Work Time Resources The web editing group will be held two days/times each month, however you only need to attend one Agenda may shift according to needs. Important Announcements Website Review: Review how to use the website, based upon questions and identified needs Best Practices: Share best practices for using, maintaining, monitoring the website Resources: Share website-related resources, created by the Communication team Next Steps: How to take what you’ve learned and implement it May introduce a Q&A period to address questions and share experiences Today: “Parking Lot” to write down what topics you would like addressed Hope to gradually spend less time talking about how to use the site, and more time working on it Have team on hand to assist

Target Deadlines October 31 Send Pages and External Sites: goo.gl/forms/wKKdbB0A89r6aXov2 November 30 Complete Web Updates (not including accessible files) December Focus on Accessible Files The Communications Team will be following up with all departments who do not meet these deadlines. Send Pages and Requests for Edits: The Communications team has set up a Google form to retrieve a list of the pages you edit at goo.gl/forms/wKKdbB0A89r6aXov2. Please identify your pages, as well as all your outside sites, and fill out this form by October 31. Complete Web Updates: This includes updating your content so that it is current and has working links; all pictures have alternate text and no text within the image (unless it is included in the alternate text); and condensing your content as much as possible. The Communications team is on hand to make changes you are unable to make, and to provide feedback. Focus on Accessible Files: We acknowledge that creating accessible files is a huge task, especially if you have a lot of PDFs, files, etc. Training will be offered in December on how to do this. We advise everyone to focus only on the files they know will be moved to the new site, and for all new documents they are creating. If you have time before December, identify which documents will be moved to the new site so you’ll be ready for the training.

Check-in What has been your experience editing the website so far? What challenges or setbacks have you encountered? Do you have any questions that can be addressed by the Communications team or the web editing group?

Website Q & A What’s the maximum image size? How can we upload a video? How can we create an image carousel? How can I make a table? What about our Google Site? What’s the maximum image size? Answer: A header photo image should be 814 pixels wide by 347 pixels high. If creating a slideshow (carousel), those images should be 412 pixels wide by 251 pixels high. If placing photos in the body of your web page, the maximum width of your image is 640 pixels. If you upload a wider image it will get squished horizontally to 640 pixels wide. How can we upload a video? Answer: Our site does not host videos, but can display videos posted to YouTube or Vimeo. Editors can now easily display such a video by 1) going to Share > Embed on YouTube and copying the code 2) clicking on the new video icon and pasting that code into the window under the Embed Code tab. One caveat is that the video will expand to the full width of the webpage. Our team is working with Grossbauer to change this. How can we create an image carousel? Answer: After uploading your photos to the “Images” menu, go to the “Photo(s)/Logo” tab on your page and add the images you want to include on the carousel. If you do not see a “Photo(s)/Logo” tab, please contact the Communications team. Photos will scale to 412 pixels wide – it’s best if they’re all cropped to the same height, as the “window” will be as tall as the tallest image. How can I make a table? Answer: Editors can now easily make a table by clicking on the dropdown arrow on a new “table” icon, scrolling over “insert table,” and drawing your table. You can edit table width and height, cell spacing and padding, borders, and alignment as well. Note: tables should only be used to display tabular data, e.g. contact information, budget information, not for creating a fancy page layout. What about our Google Site? Answer: Outside platforms such as Google Docs and Padlet are a good way to share content to a specific audience, and/or collaborate with a specific group of people. However, if you are using an outside platform such as a Google Site to host static information that is open to the public, this information should be hosted on the SMCOE website. All events should be managed through Eventbrite. Discuss: - What outside platforms do you use? - How do you use them? For what purpose?

Resources Updated Webpage Review Checklist Added Article on ”Writing for the Web” Use keywords your audience will understand Chunk your content Use white space

Resources on Google Drive All web editing resources will be uploaded to our internal website under “Communications.” This folder will be updated regularly as the need for specific resources comes up, and in preparation of our monthly meetings. Today’s resources: Updated Webpage Review Checklist Article on Writing for the Web

Next Steps Identify Webpages and fill out Google Form goo.gl/forms/wKKdbB0A89r6aXov2 Review All Your Webpages (Updated Checklist) Update Content for Accuracy Rewrite Content for Brevity and Clarity One: Set Up Processes to Manage Pages Populate Webpage Tracking Sheet Schedule updates on your calendar Save Webpage Review Checklist to your computer Two: Review All of Your Pages Use the Website Review Checklist to review Three: Update Content for Accuracy Remove out-of-date information, dates, links Correct grammar, capitalization, and punctuation errors Four: Rewrite Content for Brevity and Clarity (may need manager approval) Remove repeated or unnecessary information Remove links where appropriate Condense writing style Rename photos for accessibility Organize images and files correctly

November Meeting Dates Thursday, November 1 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Pelican Wednesday, November 14 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. webeditinggroup-11-2018.eventbrite.com

Thank you!