By performing an overhaul of all district sites under a unified CMS platform, I was able to serve the needs of our visitors by giving each user clear and direct access to important information.
As the district webmaster, I spearheaded this project with support from my supervisor in the Marketing department. I was solely responsible for making the project run smoothly over the next several months.
My goals for this project were the following:
Address the issue of information being hard to find
Promote a consistent design language across all district sites
Allow designated users to take control of their own content
Unify all district sites under a universal CMS platform
I initially met with members of the superintendent’s cabinet, board members, and other district officials to collect feedback on their own usage of the site and how it could better serve our constituents.
I also collected feedback from school level officials, teachers, parents, and students via email surveys. The responses showed that access to information was the top priority across all groups.
This set the foundation for prioritizing the district homepage to be a central information hub that is equally valuable to all visitors.
To procure the services of a reputable CMS vendor, I wrote and submitted an RFP to solicit bids from potential service providers. I required each vendor to provide a project manager and 2 developers to assist in the creation of the new platform.
After securing a contract, I worked closely with the development team to craft a custom platform that would accommodate the needs of the Clayton County population based on my prior research. My department's director provided approvals and sign-offs throughout the course of development.
I designed detailed wireframes, mockups and prototypes that were informed by the user insights I gained during the research process.
The new site platform was built over the course of the next six months to the specifications of the designs I provided to the development team.
Prior to launch, I also worked with representatives from county departments and all schools to transition their content to the new platform.
After the site was launched, feedback surveys indicated sentiment for the new site was largely positive, with 88% of respondents reporting the site as “moderately” to “vastly” improved.
Analytics showed an 11% decrease in landing page bounce rate and a 37% increase in traffic on dedicated hub pages and department subpages, as these areas were easily accessible from the landing page.
I also launched a web training course before and during the launch of the new site, which helped the department and school representatives become familiar with the new system.
