W3C Site Redesign

Ian Jacobs <ij@w3.org>

June 2013, Tokyo, Japan

w3.org: our most important marketing and communications asset

Specifications
Discussion (mailing lists, minutes, etc.)
News and blogs
Services (validator, etc.)
Information for Members
Information about Membership

Millions of hits daily; 10s of thousands of page views.

Most recent redesign: 5 years ago (2008)

Redesigned
- Home page
- Top pages
- Tech reports index and status pages
- Member site
Abandoned
- New tech report style
Out of scope
- Group subsites
- Mailing list archives

Much has changed since 2008

New audiences
- BizDev initiatives to verticals drive new comms needs
- Broader audiences (e.g., participation through CGs/BGs) not experienced in W3C
New offerings
- webplatform.org
- W3Conf
- training
New technology considerations
- Responsive design
- New HTML5, CSS capabilities

Questions in light of these changes

Who are our primary external audiences?
- Developers
- C-level decision makers
- Press and analysts
What are their primary requirements?
- What do they value?
- Can they find what they need?
- Can they get involved easily?
Are our internal audiences satisfied?
- Are we providing the best service to Members?
- Are we reducing friction to getting work done in WGs?
- Are people getting the most from Community and Business Groups?
What do we need to fulfill our goals?
- Explaining value of Open Web Platform
- Business development
- Developer relations

Where we are looking for answers

Brand research
- perception of W3C, value proposition, positioning, messaging
- how can we credibly and powerfully portray ourselves in a new site?
Site analysis
Discussions with Membership
Discussions with chairs, groups

Goals for a Redesigned Site

Make it easy to find information
- information architecture
- search
Drive various forms of participation
Communicate brand proposition
- to Members
- to Developers
- using harmonized, updated visual identity
Communicate Open Web Platform
Demonstrate Open Web Platform good practice
Make it easier to analyze, update site

We want a kick-ass, award winning site.

Project phases

Phase I: research, initial proposal
Phase II: develop proposal, implement

Timing

W3C anniversary in 2014
Goal is to show off new brand and visual identity as part of anniv

Related Work

Brand research (Marilyn Siderwicz)
Analytics and dashboards (Ted Guild)
Visual identity (after brand research)
Modern Guide (for chairs, groups)
Community/Business Group site redesign

Sneak peak at new CG/BG site

These improvements align with survey suggestions.

Site Redesign Task Force work so far

Site survey. Three focus areas:
- Public site, including tech reports
- Member site
- Group pages
Server log analysis
- We do not do full analytics due to privacy policy (in review)
Search data
- Data from google search box
- Note: we do not have custom search tool

Summary of Findings

We have valued assets
We must make significant usability improvements

Survey: Who responded

More than 250 people, primarily self-identified as:

Web designer
Web application designer
User experience designer
Information architect
Content strategist

20% of respondents work for a W3C Member. Member site questions only shown to them.

Survey: Involvement in W3C Groups

More than 250 responses:

46% not in any groups
36% in Working Groups
21% in Interest Groups
25% in CGs, 12% in BGs
19 AC Reps
11 TAG + AB
22 Chairs
23 Team Contacts
25 Editors

Survey: Home page

Here and following, numbers in parentheses are responses.

Visits (196):
- At least monthly: 63%
- At least weekly: 39%
- Daily: 7%
Main features sought (179):
- 74%: Links to standards and other materials
- 52%: Links to validators
- 49%: News
- 39%: Blog

Logs: Top links from home page

Home page
Standards home and 2008 sub pages (design, architecture, ...)
TR page
HTML5 specification
About W3C
Site index
Help
News archive
Membership
WAI home page

Survey: Requests for home page changes (56)

Make it easier to find specs
Improve organization, less content / more white space, progressive disclosure
(More) Responsive design
Better search
- Tailor search to specifications
- Bubble up frequent searches
Donation/support button
Easy access to translations
More accessibility

Survey: Why do you visit the site? (143)

Find W3C specifications
HTML elements and attributes
CSS properties and values
W3C Validator
Find out whether something is a Recommendation
Accessibility guidelines
Find out how well a specification is implemented

Logs: Top URIs originating elsewhere than w3.org

HTML4 resources
CSS21 resources
RFC2616
PICS
HTML5 logo
Style examples
WSDL spec
QA Tools Donate button
XML spec
XMLHttpRequest
Amaya
NOTE-datetime
WCAG 1.0 and WAI icons

Note: Systems Team has said there are lots of bots hitting our site; DTD downloads, and various other noise.

Search: Top seach terms

w3c or w3
HTTP information (status codes)
CSS information (css, background, selectors, media queries, text-shadown, center)
wsdl
html
xmlhttprequest
amaya
xml
www
wcag
fonts

Survey: What have you had difficulty finding? (41)

Almost everything
HTML5 / current HTML
Usage examples and unit tests
Answers to concrete questions
Current Members
Working group updates, meeting information, how to participoate
Translations

Survey: Technical Report Context

Too hard to find content people want
Various TR page views are used: by technology, by status, by date (92)
54% use "standards only" filter most frequently (103)
47% (of 141) find status pages useful
46% (of 141) did not know they existed. Some of those said now that they do they would find useful.

Survey: Site index

66% do not find site map useful (132)

Survey: Group pages

92% want home page templates (42)
73% want to distinguish public info from group operations (42)
Consistency in comments about organization of information

Survey: Member site

Only 12.5% visit Member home page more often than monthly (40)
- 15% did not know Member home page existed
Dashboard
- 74% (of 31) support dashboard
- Similar theme in another question; people want custom Member home page
Suggestions
- Eliminate public/member site distinction
- Make it easier to add/remove group members
- Make it easier to create acccounts
- Easier access to administer membership

Conclusions

We have valuable assets
- Specifications and supporting materials
- Validator
- News
- Blog
People are not finding things easily
- Need better search, information architecture
- Need to prioritize content differently
Eliminate Member site distinction (just integrate it)

Next steps

Digest the feedback, continue conversations
Develop a vision for the site
Create a plan for the project (scope, resources, budget, timeline)
Find sponsorship
Create a proposal for W3M to review