2 weeks ago I was in Miami at dotCMS bootcamp and I had a few reflections I thought I would share:
The web is not a project and we shouldn’t talk about maintaining it.
When organizations redesign the website there is a high level of energy and enthusiasm across all levels during the planning and implementation stages. But that drops off significantly after the launch and as we get into “maintenance mode.” As web professionals we need to remove the word maintenance from our vocabulary and start talking about growth. The web is not a project that has a defined start and end point. But rather a critical piece of your organization that needs to be constantly improving and growing.
ROI vs. RAKAWS
Should we worry about the ROI of web projects? We have to be conscious of how we spend our time and resources but web professionals should start to think about the value of Running A Kick Ass Web Site. What is the value of having key information like how to make a gift or how to get more information easy to find on the site for your large revenue generators.
Organization doesn’t matter
No matter how many people you have, or if you report to marketing or IT a really good web team does the following three things well:
- Web Operations – Ensures that the tactics of Web site development align with overall organizational mission.
- Web Execution – Day to day execution by the Web Team; the Web Team carries out plans developed by Web Ops.
- Web Performance Measurement – Web analytics that are connected to business goals
There is nothing revolutionary here but some good thoughts to keep in mind as we wrap up one academic year and get ready for summer projects.