Content Migration: Here's The Deal

You’ve heard rumblings about this Rethink thing. Maybe you’ve helped test the new navigation, or took a look at the style tiles on the Web Services blog. Maybe you’ve even worked on auditing your content (or finished auditing it all!)

But you still aren’t sure where this is all going, and when.

Here’s the deal

Plan to start moving your content into the new system on July 1. We will make the big change on Sept. 15 (right before new applications open on 10/1).

Right now, we need to set up two meetings with the people who manage the website in your department. This will allow us to nail down the plan for migrating your site and making sure your content will work well on mobile devices when we launch.

Initial Meeting

Here is the agenda for that meeting:

• Content Review - We’ll go through your existing content and look for structure, like headings and paragraphs. We’ll discuss how it might look in a mobile environment.
• Personas - We’ll develop three “personas” that represent people who use your site. We’ll identify their goals, and what their successes and failures might be.
• Analytics - We’ll look at the data behind your content. We’ll get a sense of where users are going, how long they are staying and what is a typical visitor’s path.
• Search Terms - We’ll review existing words and terms you think should point visitors to your site after a search. We'll also come up with new ones, if needed.

From those four things, we’ll come up with goals for your site and a plan to put those goals in place.

Second Meeting

The next step is to focus on your content for mobile users, and to ensure your site is easy to navigate on any device.

• Page tables - Only so much content fits onto a mobile screen, so we will look at your pages and rank your content for mobile displays.
• Site map - Mobile-friendly also means menus cannot be as long. Using Mindmiester, we will work out a sitemap that streamlines navigation.
• Testing - We have testing tools available and can create a plan for testing your site with users.

Finishing the Content Audit

The better shape your site is in before migration, the easier that task will be. With site goals and a plan in place, we encourage you to finish up the content audit we launched last November.

Migration Plan

With all this work done, you’ll be ready to migrate content into the new Charlotte content management system on July 1. We’ll have migration help available through the summer as well.