Determine Who Will Update the Various Parts of Your Website on an Ongoing Basis
Before and After Launch Checklist
User roles
Before launch
Determine who will update the various parts of your website on an ongoing basis.
Determine a workflow for content production. Who will create content, and who will approve it? Based on your workflow, set up the appropriate user roles for contributors.
Determine who will be the site owner, the primary contact for OpenScholar support.
After launch/ongoing
Review your user list to remove people to no longer need the ability to edit the site.
Training and support
Before launch
Anyone responsible for website content creation and updates should attend an OpenScholar training.
Anyone working on the site should learn how to use Community to find help, report bugs, and add feature requests.
Anyone working on the site should learnhow to log a support ticket for urgent needs.
After launch/ongoing
New content creators or editors added to the site should attend OpenScholar training, learn how to use Community, and learn how to log support tickets, as described above.
Changing your domain
Before launch
To apply your current domain name to your new site, submit a support ticket.
To secure a new domain name, contact the trademark office at least two weeks before launch.
Set the website to “public” before launch.
Consider developing a post-launch communications plan to let your usersknow that you have launched a new website with a new URL.
After launch/ongoing
If your domain has changed entirely, or if you have a few specific, high-traffic pages, you can set up a redirect for those URLs.
After a few months, retire redirects for non-existent URLs – over time, users will learn to navigate the new site and update their bookmarks.
Google will automatically re-index your site fairly quickly, but you can speed up the process by using Google’s Webmaster Tools to request that Google re-index the site.
Functionality
Before launch
All links work, both internal and external.
All downloadable files such as PDFs work and have understandable file names.
Any embedded code such as videos and mailing list sign-ups display correctly.
Forms have been tested and work correctly.
Site has been tested on the most common browsers (IE8,9, Firefox, Chrome, Safari).
Mobile responsiveness is turned on, and pages display correctly on mobile devices.
Google Analytics ID has been added (if using).
Review Harvard IT Security policies and best practicesregarding passwords and confidential information.
Consider backing up your old site in case you need to recover legacy data.
After launch
Double check that all internal links work.
Continue to check for broken links periodically. Siteimprove, a third-party service available with HWP’s Premium support, will scan your site for broken links every week.
Content and design
Before launch
Navigation and site structure
Site structure follows best practices for general web usability.
Section navigation is present when a section has sub-pages.
Section navigation appears in a consistent place on each page (right or left column).
If using a drop-down menu for a section, the menu matches the section navigation
Breadcrumbs are activated.
Site layout
Site header contains your department name, search box, and action navigation (if using).
Footer contains the Harvard guidelines compliant shield, department name, your contact information, and internal navigation (if using).
Pages
Titles of pages are brief and clear.
The landing page for each section has content, not just the subpages.
Test pages or unnecessary pages have been deleted or unpublished
URLs are named correctly (OpenScholar generates a URL automatically, but if you rename a page, the URL does not update automatically).
All pages have been checked for consistent layout.
You have created a privacy policy page for your site.
Content quality
Techniques from the Harvard Guidelines for writing for the web are used to make content easier to skim (headings, bullet points, brief paragraphs, etc.)
All content is up-to-date and accurate.
Content is marked-up semantically (<h2>, <h3>etc.) and formatted correctly.
Proofreading
Content is free of spelling and grammatical errors.
Style of writing is consistent across the site; refer to the Harvard Guidelines for a style guide, or use one of your choice, such as Chicago or AP.
Capitalization (especially for pages, headings, and menus) is consistent.
Harvard-related words are written and capitalized correctly.
Check for incorrect punctuation marks and special symbols, as these can sometimes render incorrectly if copied and pasted from another source.
Images
All images have alt-text.
Text is not displayed as an image, except in the case of logos, charts, or infographics.
Images on each page have the desired alignment and are sized correctly.
Slideshow images are positioned correctly (e.g. the subject’s head is not covered by text).
Photos meet the Harvard image guidelines for quality, diversity, and look and feel.
Taxonomy
Content using taxonomy is correctly tagged.
Terms within a vocabularyare structured consistently.
Social media and engagement
Social sharing icons have been added to news, event, blog, and other relevant sections.
Any methods used to further engage the visitor – such as social media accounts or newsletter sign-ups – are incorporated into the site.
After Launch/ongoing
Use an editorial calendar for the development and distribution of new content.
New content creators should know where to find tools needed for content production, such as a style guide, editorial calendar, and images.
New content creators should understand the structure of your website. What is the correct section for a new page? Does content need to be tagged with certain terms?
Periodically evaluate the pages and documents on your website. Even if content does not change often, an annualcontent inventorycan ensure that content remains current.
Refer back to your project charter, and look at your Google Analytics (if enabled) to determine if your site is accomplishing its intended goals.
Conduct some user-testing and/or gather feedback on the site from your visitors and stakeholders so you can continue to improve your website.
Updated 7/28/2014
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