Session 5/8. Content strategy. The Strategic Content Alliance, JISC sponsored workshops on Maximising Online Resource Effectiveness, held on different occasions throughout 2010 and delivered by Netskills.

1. Managing content—SCAMORE 5/8
there’s more to it than you think!
photo: ©GM 2010

3. Content strategy
Session 5/8

4. Content delivery
Can your content be delivered adequately?
Is the server and network up to the job?
‣ underpowered server
‣ network connectivity
‣ server configuration
‣ content management system configuration
Is the content unnecessarily “heavy”?
‣ use of too many separate image/CSS/JS resources
‣ every resource has bandwidth overhead
‣ consolidate where possible

5. Audience research
Establishing desirable target audience
The Audience Analysis Toolkit for public sector bodies has been
developed for the Strategic Content Alliance to distribute to members
‣ A concise guide to researching audiences
‣ A visualisation guide to researching audiences
‣ Audience research for cultural sector practitioners
‣ Audience research for people experimenting with digital media
‣ Audience research for education and research practitioners
‣ Audience research for health library and knowledge practitioners
‣ Audience research for programme, service and research practitioners
‣ Audience research for senior managers
http://sca.jiscinvolve.org/publications/

6. Open University recommendations
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/events/2010/04/presentations/openingkeynote.pdf

7. Use of Javascript
Enhancing the user experience
Avoid unnecessary user inconvenience or time wasting
‣ form validation
‣ AJAX—to prevent frequent page loads from server
‣ increase response times for web site visitors
http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/script

8. Javascript—AJAX example
‣ update user interactively
‣ provide visual feedback
‣ check details at server
‣ reduce necessary pages
http://www.mcshaneglen.com/cgi-bin/bookings

9. Providing access for everyone
Official accessibility guidelines
How people with disabilities use the web
‣ Addressing various scenarios
Web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) overview
‣ Four principles and corresponding checklist points
‣ Perceivable | Operable | Understandable | Robust
http://www.w3.org/WAI/EO/Drafts/PWD-Use-Web/ http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

10. Content layout
F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, April 17 2006
Eyetracking visualisations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two
horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.
F for fast. That's how users read your precious content. In a few seconds, their eyes move at
amazing speeds across your website’s words in a pattern that's very different from what you
learned in school.
We recorded how 232 users looked at thousands of Web pages. We found that users' main
reading behavior was fairly consistent across many different sites and tasks. This dominant
reading pattern looks somewhat like an F and has the following three components.
Users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area.
This initial element forms the F's top bar.
Next, users move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal movement
that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement. This additional element
forms the F's lower bar.
Finally, users scan the content's left side in a vertical movement. Sometimes this is a fairly
slow and systematic scan that appears as a solid stripe on an eyetracking heatmap. Other
times users move faster, creating a spottier heatmap. This last element forms the F's stem.
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

12. Writing style
Anticipate visitor behaviour
‣ most don’t plan their visit
‣ driven by goals—theirs, not yours
‣ instantly judge your site
‣ skim for clues
‣ review headings and first paragraph
‣ read about 20%
Make reading engaging and easy for visitor
‣ be concise—focus on what visitor interested in
‣ capture interest, then add detail
‣ scannable headlines, headings, emphasised keywords
‣ use lists instead of long paragraphs
‣ ensure links are perceived for what they are (not “click here”)
‣ make images meaningful (and include description using “alt” in HTML tag)
‣ be consistent

13. Inverted information pyramid
Intro
Detail
Conclusion
Conventional pyramid information structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

14. Inverted information pyramid
Inverted pyramid information structure
Conclusion
Intro
Explanation
Detail
Detail
Conclusion
Conventional pyramid information structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

15. Inverted information pyramid
Probable web page
viewing opportunity
Inverted pyramid information structure
Conclusion
Intro
Explanation
Detail
Detail
Conclusion
Conventional pyramid information structure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_pyramid

16. Thinking strategically about content—what needs done
http://www.richardingram.co.uk/2009/10/instilling-confidence-with-content-strategies/

17. Thinking strategically about content—who does what
http://www.richardingram.co.uk/2009/07/theyll-thank-you-later/

18. Content strategy—getting organised and establishing working protocol
http://www.richardingram.co.uk/downloads/content_strategy_approaches.pdf

19. Content strategies
Working as a group, select one of the following projects
1. The selection of a new content
management system (CMS) for all content
providers in your organisation
2. The introduction of a quality assurance
process for all web based content published
by your organisation
3. The creation of a SWAT (skilled with
advanced tools) team in your organisation
to assist web content providers

20. Content strategies
For your chosen project create an action plan
‣ include everything you consider to be important for success
‣ include anything else you believe is relevant for maximum project effectiveness
‣ consider who all should be involved, why, to what extent, and management of them
‣ ensure that all lessons gained from current content provision are taken into account
‣ where appropriate list mandatory, highly desirable and desirable targets
‣ give regard to the publication process, user interface, consistency, accessibility,
metadata, maintenance of content
‣ note any policies that need to be established, privacy statements, disclaimers,
other legal or organisational obligations
‣ categorise and prioritise your proposed actions
‣ nominate a spokesperson to summarise your action plan to the whole workshop
‣ answer challenges presented by other groups following your presentation

21. Content strategies
Project action plan