[SEDS Alumni Board] Re: [SEDSexec] seds.org Clarity

[Kevin Welch]

When I rewrote the website a few years ago, I really only retooled the
backend code; I reused much of the original layout in terms of the
content on each page. However, I did build in functionality that would
help the site grow into a vibrant and dynamic community, like the
permissions system and the news engine.

I think what you're looking for is a kind of directed marketing
approach: how do we convey to our visitors what we do, how good we are
at doing it, and how they can be a part of it?

Some ideas to accomplish those objectives, off the top of my head:

- Reorganize the side boxes. I would create an entire side box just
for current SEDS projects. Hiding them behind a JavaScript onClick is
a neat trick, but it doesn't help people find them. For other things,
ask yourself, if I were a new visitor to the site, what would I want
to see right away, and what could wait until I am more familiar with
SEDS? Tailor your side boxes to that response.
- Redesign the site with some flashier colors and bolder text. I have
to be honest, I was never very happy with the initial grey design I
came up with--I thought of it only as a placeholder--and I had the
intention of eventually replacing it with many different, much more
vibrant color schemes (skins). But, then I ran out of time and left
the project, so I didn't have a chance. Your new scheme is a marked
improvement, but still reuses much of the bland, small-text grey theme
I created (especially in the side boxes). Color and form are a good
place to start for a more effective website. If you're not up to it,
put out a call to the general SEDS community; I'm sure someone out
there has some webdesign experience and can write the necessary CSS
files. (I think I commented things pretty well on devel.seds.org,
wherever those files are now, let me know if I didn't or if you need
another copy of that site.) Look at other popular websites for
inspiration. I'd even suggest calling someone at your college who is
majoring in marketing, and get their input. Also, encourage them to
join SEDS. :)
- Create a dedicated site for prospective members, and a different
dedicated site for people looking to start a chapter. Put as much
helpful information on those pages as you can. Ask someone not in SEDS
to review the pages and mention where they are confused or would like
more information, and then use the feedback to refine the content.
Link to these sites from great big banner text on the front page, to
get people's attention.
- Add news posts to the front page (the code is already there). The
best way to have people keep coming back to your site is to have it
change often. Give the entire SEDSExec board permissions to post news
items. The news items could be about updates to project pages,
upcoming events, cool space-related stories you saw online, whatever.
(Just steer clear of Blogspot-style posts about your cat and the tuna
sandwich you had for lunch.) The key is to keep it relevant and keep
it fresh. Every SEDSExec member should go to seds.org several times a
week, and should probably post something at least every week, even if
it's something simple like, "Hey, I saw these awesome pictures of
Jupiter over on the New Horizons website!" with a link, or "Come see
the new information the Illinois Space Society has up about our
supersonic rocket project!". Feel free to aggregate these into an RSS
feed that members or other sites could subscribe to. Each news post
could also have a link directly to the forums where people could
comment and discuss; user interaction is a great way to keep them
coming back.
- I love your chapter spotlight idea. Keep that right there on the
front page. However, you should post links to various things in the
spotlight, like to the chapter's webpage, or the AAS Goddard Symposium
website, etc. When in doubt, hyperlink it. There were no links in the
spotlight I read today.
- And finally, lean on your chapter presidents to keep their own
websites updated with the latest information. If you keep linking to
things on their site, make sure that the rest of their site is also
kept up to date. I know it's hard sometimes to make updates when not
much is going on; but the more we do it, the more we look (online)
like the thriving community we are. I would encourage each chapter to
nominate or elect a webmaster, who will be in charge of making sure
the information on the web about that chapter is current.
- There should be something new on the site *every day*, even if it's
just a news post. Give people a reason to come back, and then give
them a reason to get involved.

These were just off the top of my head, I'm sure others can think of
more. Remember that the website is very much the face of SEDS (no
relation to the face on Mars) and should reflect how cool we are. I'm
excited to see where you go with this.

Sorry, that email ended up being longer than I intended.

Keep up the good work SEDSers,

- Kevin

On 4/8/07, Ryan McLinko <mclinkor at mit.edu> wrote:
>
> I am attempting to increase the clarity/effectiveness of seds.org so
> that it may more easily convey the many things that SEDS-USA is doing.
>
> Some potentially interesting opportunities, such as a potential
> co-sponsorship of a conference, have been missed because of this.
>
> There are several problems and I would like advice on how to fix:
> 1.) the front page looks relatively static
> 2.) the front page doesn't effectively portray the many projects we are
> involved in
> 3.) the front page doesn't effectively capture people who may
> potentially want to start a chapter
>
> If you have some advice on how to approach these things (or can think of
> any other problems), then please let me know.  Thanks for your help.
>
> --
> - Ryan McLinko
>  SEDS-USA Vice Chair, Webmaster
>  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
>  Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
>  Class of 2009
>
>
> ===  EOF  ===
>
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