EVMS Web Project

Using Site Manager, a hands-on training where you’ll learn how to use the new content management system, will be offered on the following dates and times:

• Monday, May 14, 3:00-5:00
• Tuesday, May 15, 3:00-5:00
• Wednesday, May 16, 3:00-5:00
• Friday, May  18, 10:00-12:00

As a reminder, you must complete the Using Site Manager training in order to receive your log-in credentials for the new content management system.

Writing for the Web is offered this Tuesday, May 15, 1:00-3:00. This class addresses basics and best practices for writing web content. Bring any work you’ve done so far on your content with you.

Our first Content Migration Workshop is planned for Wednesday, May 16, 1:00-3:00. Please come prepared with your content saved on a jump drive and be ready to work in the Site Manager system. Staff from Marketing & Communications will be on hand to assist you.

Formatting Content is scheduled for Thursday, May 17, 9:00-11:00. This class covers the new site structure and requirements. We’ll address ways that existing content can be modified or updated to fit the new page designs. Bring any work you’ve done so far on your content with you.

All trainings are held in the Brickell Medical Sciences Library Computer Classroom. Please refer to the training calendar for additional training dates and times.

We thank you for your participation in this process. If you have questions, please contact Web Technologies at webmaster@evms.edu or call 757.446.7070.

The EVMS private site design is complete. iFactory, the website design vendor, sent HTML and CSS files to TerminalFour, on March 28, 2012. We are currently gathering additional discovery items needed by TerminalFour to implement the private site. We will be sending spreadsheets to individual departments to allow them to track all forms, services and policies needed on the site.

Discovery is scheduled to conclude on May 15, 2012, with the delivery of a technical functional specification from TerminalFour. The private site build is scheduled to begin immediately following.

Additional training specifically for the private site will be scheduled as we get closer to completion of the site build. As the private site build continues, we will be better able to inform the campus of important content migration and site launch dates.

We thank you for your participation in this process. If you have questions, please contact Web Technologies and webmaster@evms.edu or call 757.446.7070.

In the Writing for the Web training, we cover best practices for writing content to be published online. As a refresher for those who have taken the course, and a primer for those yet to take it, we’ve provided a set of tips to help guide you.

• Write for your audience.
• Get to the point quickly.
• Avoid ambiguity.
• Reduce text by 50% (or as much as possible without making substantive changes to your content).
• Use shorter, simpler sentences (aim for under 15 words).
• Use short paragraphs (aim for 5 sentences or less).
• Use active voice versus passive voice.
• Use headings and subheadings to draw attention to key items or break up text.
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms whenever possible (MD, PhD, and other degrees are fine; anything else that requires an abbreviation or acronym should be called out first).
• Use proper punctuation.
• Break out content into bulleted lists.
• One idea per paragraph.
• Start with the conclusion (inverted pyramid).
• Reduce word count (try to cut your existing content in half).
• Consider the F-shaped layout pattern when deciding where to place content of importance.
• Vary paragraph length to retain readers’ interest.

As a reminder, if you haven’t registered for web training yet, please do so as soon as possible at Please be sure to have your departmental representatives select training times online and register as soon as possible at http://blogs.evms.edu/calendar.html.

We thank you for your participation in this process. If you have questions or comments, contact Web Technologies at 446-7070 or email webmaster@evms.edu.

Please remember that you must sign up and attend Using Site Manager training in order to receive your log-in credentials for the new content management system (CMS). Without your log-in credentials, you will not be able to begin migrating content. If you haven’t registered for Site Manager training yet, please do so by selecting a course below.

• Thursday, May 10, 10:00-12:00
• Monday, May 14, 3:00-5:00
• Tuesday, May 15, 3:00-5:00
• Wednesday, May 16, 3:00-5:00
• Friday, May 18, 10:00-12:00
• Thursday, May 24, 1:00-3:00
• Tuesday, May 29, 1:00-3:00
• Wednesday, May 30, 1:00-3:00

As always, we thank you for your participation in this process. If you have questions or comments, don’t hesitate to contact Web Technologies at 446-7070 or email webmaster@evms.edu.

Last week, we distributed department-specific web traffic reports. The reports consisted of a MS Excel spreadsheet with either one or two tabs.

Everyone received the first tab, which detailed each department’s user traffic. This tab shows you which of your pages/content are viewed most frequently.

If you have a second tab in your report, titled “Top-ranked content,” this means that some of your department content is included within the top 90% of overall visitation to evms.edu. We are asking that any content included on that second tab be migrated to the new site prior to launch on June 27.

If you have additional questions on your report, contact Web Technologies at 446-7070 or email webmaster@evms.edu.

Or, feel free to bring your questions to an upcoming web training class. Remember to register at http://blogs.evms.edu/calendar.html.

This week, we are offering two courses:

• Formatting Content for Web Templates, May 3, 9-11:  This class covers the new site structure/requirements and addresses ways existing content can be modified or updated to fit the new page designs. Bring any work you’ve done so far on your content with you.

• Writing for the Web, May 4, 10-12: This class addresses basics and best practices for writing web content. Bring any work you’ve done so far on your content with you.

All trainings are held in the Brickell Medical Sciences Library Computer Classroom. If you haven’t registered web training yet, you can do so at http://blogs.evms.edu/calendar.html.

We thank you for your participation in this process. If you have questions or comments, contact Web Technologies at 446-7070 or email webmaster@evms.edu.

Web content training for content owners and contributors began last week and continues through June. We are offering four different types of training, available at a variety of dates and times:

• Writing for the Web: This class addresses basics and best practices for writing web content.
• Formatting Content for the EVMS Web Templates: This class covers the new site structure/requirements and addresses ways existing content can be modified or updated to fit the new page designs.
• Using Site Manager (the CMS):  MarComm staff will provide hands-on instruction on using the new CMS. Attendees will receive their new login information during this class.
• Content Migration Workshop:  This is a lab setting, where MarComm staff is available to assist content editors in migrating their content. Attendees should come prepared with their new content, ready to migrate.

Please be sure to have your departmental representatives select training times online and register as soon as possible at http://blogs.evms.edu/calendar.html.

We thank you for your participation in this process. If you have questions or comments, please contact Kim Lewandowski or Natalie Semmler or call 757.446.7070.

Our content management system (CMS) vendor, TerminalFour, is in the middle of the the implementation phase. We are now working with the final site designs to build out templates for the public portion of the new website. This is scheduled for completion in mid-April, at which time we’ll shift into content-migration mode. In preparation for this step, EVMS departments should be reviewing existing content to determine what will be migrated onto the new site, if not already done so.

As a reminder, this is an excellent time to cut obsolete pages and content. About 500 pages account for roughly 90 percent of our web traffic while our existing site includes more than 2,500 pages. Therefore, it is not necessary to migrate everything from the previous site. We will focus on these most-viewed pages and high-level content for each department for the public site launch set to occur June 27.

As that date is fast approaching, we are also requesting that departments begin to determine how the content they plan to migrate will fit into the new page designs. Content contributors and others involved in content development should plan on attending upcoming training sessions. We will be offering four different types of training at a variety of dates and times:

• Writing for the web
• Formatting content for the EVMS web templates
• Using Site Manager (the CMS)
• Content migration workshop (lab setting where staff will be available to assist content editors in migrating their content)

Please be sure to have your departmental representatives select training times online and register as soon as possible on the current EVMS Events Site.

Our new site design and structure is very different from the old. This will require that departments make some changes to  their content (length, organization, etc.). We encourage your department to begin working on these changes now.

Important dates to remember

• Mid-April: CMS training for content contributors begins. Additional training includes writing for the web workshops, migration workshops and more. A full schedule is attached.
• April 16 to June 15: Content migration occurs
• June 18-25: Beta testing of site occurs
• June 27, 2012: Public site launches

Throughout the course of this project, the Office of Marketing & Communications has made an effort to keep the campus apprised of the project’s progress through periodic updates on the web project blog; however, should you have specific questions moving forward, don’t hesitate to reach out to Kim Lewandowski or Natalie Semmler at webmaster@evms.edu.