Category Archives: Content recommendations

To Box or not to Box?

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Box logoOver the last month or so I’ve been traveling around the state giving regional website training workshops. At these workshops I’ve been promoting Box for file management, especially when you have files that change on a regular basis. One of the weaknesses of Drupal, is file management. Box offers some features to make up for that.

Programs like 4-H and Master Gardener™ have quite a few forms for volunteers and participants. Updating these forms and uploading them to the website each year can be an arduous task. 

This process involves logging into the website, locating the old file, removing it, then uploading the new file. The problem with this method is the link to the file changes. What if someone bookmarked last years form, or the file wasn’t deleted? This can lead to the dreaded Page Not Found (404) error, or a Google search result that links to last years form (not good). 

This is where Box excels. With Box, you can create a URL to the file that doesn’t change, even when you replace the 2019 form with the 2020 form. Replacing a file is a snap, and Box is version controlled. Each time you replace a file, a copy is saved in the version history. So if you make a mistake, or want to see what the old file looked like, or even revert to a previous version, you can do that right in Box. 

Box shared link settingsYou can also use Box to password protect individual file(s), or folders. Have you ever wanted to provide volunteers access to files require a password to access? This is quite simple with Box. You can even create links that expire after a particular date.

Box is far from a perfect solution however. Setting the direct link to a file is not intuitive process. It is quicker to initially upload your files to the website. Yet using Box will save you time in the long run. The initial set up is tedious, but you only have to do it once. When it’s time to update your files next year, login to Box, replace the old file and you’re done. 

See our webguide (beav.es/extension-webguide) for detailed instructions for using Box to manage files. Visit the OSU Box website for complete documentation.

Best practice for county pages

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We want people to understand what we do and how it is relevant for their lives. This isn’t easy: We provide resources for many topics and our impact is challenging to summarize. Here are some tips when writing for county pages:

Make it easy to read

  • Read the text out loud. Are there sentences where you need to slow down? Is the sentence long? Try breaking the information up into smaller sentences. Consider removing some information.
  • Write for a general audience. The target audience for county landing pages is the general public. Aim for an eighth-grade reading level. Use terms that are general and understandable for people unfamiliar with OSU Extension. Avoid using program names and internal jargon when possible.
  • Write directly to the reader: Whenever possible use ‘you’. We serve you. Avoid ‘clientele’, ‘customers’, and ‘audience’.
  • More tips: See writing for the web.
  • Helpful tools:
    • Hemingway Editor: Estimates the reading level. Highlights text that is hard to read. Is free. See how to use Hemingway Editor.
    • Jargon tool: A very easy way to see what words are jargon. Rates how well the words are known.

How the design can help

The county page design has places to share different parts of our story:

County landing page

Intro text
Make OSU Extension relevant to the general public. Show why they should care, by helping them understand what we do — and how it affects their lives. Keep it brief.

We recommend including:

  • How we help Oregonians
  • It is affordable to learn with us (often no cost)
  • How they can learn with us (classes, tours, etc.)

We don’t recommend including:

  • Information about how we work: our program names, about trained-volunteers, community partners, etc. This comes later.

Note: The “what we do” section provides some concrete examples of information that can be learned about in this county.

Intro example:

The Benton County Extension Service helps you solve problems, develop life skills and manage your resources.

We share reliable, research-based education. Access is affordable, often offered at no-cost: Talk one-on-one with an expert. Attend a demonstration, tour, short courses, youth development club or activity. Read our publications.

County landing page example, see Hood River.

‘What we do’ page

Intro
We recommend including:

  • More details on how we help Oregonians
  • How we provide our services: through our faculty, staff, trained volunteers and community partners

We don’t recommend including:

  • Our program names.

Note: The “what we do” section provides some concrete examples of information that can be learned about in this county. About section can be a great place to include impact information, this displays further down on the page.

‘What we do‘ intro example:

Extension faculty, staff, and trained volunteers work alongside partners across Deschutes County to provide educational workshops, activities and services tailored to the unique industries, natural resources, and demographics in our communities.

Oregon State University’s land grant mission drives us to conduct research and share research-based education to minimize community risk, improve economic vitality, and promote personal and environmental health.

‘What we do’ page example: Union

Focus area page

Titles
Create concise, easy to understand titles.

  • Is the title is getting too complicated? Perhaps there are too many topics contained within one focus area. Try breaking it into multiple focus areas.
  • Is the title too long? Try removing some of the information or adding it to the description.

Title example:

  • Livestock
  • Food preservation and safety
  • Small Farms
  • Field crops
  • Nutrition and healthy living

Description
Briefly outline the benefits. The description text shows on the “What we do page”.

Example title and description:

Activities for youth: 4-H empowers young people with hands-on learning experiences to help them grow and thrive. By creating a safe and welcoming environment, young people develop the skills needed to make a positive impact on the world around them.

Home garden and landscape: We provide research-based information for backyard gardeners and green industry professionals, including regional specific information.

Working together on county pages

We will be collaborating with each county on developing their county pages. This will include optimizing the use of the website’s design, refining landing pages and creating focus areas.

Website updates

  • Checkout the updates to the statewide 4-H including user-friendly menu and the great way they are using the website’s designs! Nice work!
  • There is a new youth development topic page. It is ready for programs and focus areas to add this topic tag to your content. Educational content for the public can show on this topic page.

4 tips to get you started with local focus areas

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Now that the new county designs have launched, it’s time to focus on filling out content for your county’s focus areas. Here are some tips to get you started. Also, if you’re in Eastern Oregon, the web team is coming your way for a training this week (see more at the end of this blog post).

1. Review some examples

  • View a mockup of a local focus area at the end of this post. Includes annotations.
  • Review examples of county pages using the redesign and new focus areas: Tillamook county and Washington county. From the county page, click “What we do” in the county’s navigation. Items under “Highlights” are focus areas. We appreciate these county’s help with testing their current content in the new designs!

2. Choose user-friendly titles

When writing a title for your focus area, we recommend:

  • User-friendly titles: Use terms that are general and understandable for people unfamiliar with OSU Extension. Avoid using program names and internal jargon when possible.
  • Encouraging action: Show people how they can become involved (e.g., use “Preserve food at home” instead of “Food preservation”).
  • Concise titles: If a desired focus area is too big to use a simple phrase because it includes too many topics, it should probably be broken into multiple focus areas.

Here are some examples:

  • Activities for youth
  • Caring for your forestland
  • Grow your gardening skills
  • Start or grow your small farm
  • Preserve food at home

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like some help identifying focus area titles or how to organize content to fit within focus areas.

3. Select which types of local focus area

There are three options for focus areas:

  • 1) Display a custom page: this includes a place to add information about the local context, related resources, contact info, etc. See mockup at end of this blog post for an example.

Or, link to existing content:

  • 2) Link to a local program (for 4-H or MG): Links will take visitors directly to the landing page for that local program (i.e. Benton County 4-H).
  • 3) Link to an existing focus area in another county: if you would like to display a focus area that has been added by a different county (e.g. for a regional focus area), select it here. Links will take user directly to that focus area.

Select which desired option under “How to display” when creating a local focus area.

4. Create or edit a focus area

Read last week’s blog post for training materials to get started on creating or editing your focus areas.

The following focus areas have been or will been created for you:

  • Any content that is currently within county sub-pages. We’ll transition this content to focus areas for you.
  • 4-H and Master Gardener: These have been added. They link directly to county program pages (e.g., Gilliam County 4-H)
  • Gardening: A template for gardening is being developed.

You can change the order of focus areas on the ‘What we do’ page and select which three to include on the county landing page.

New locations for content in new design

County programs & local focus areas
Three focus areas are set to display on the county landing pages. The ‘What we do’ page also includes:

  • All focus areas: listed under the  ‘Highlighted’ heading.
  • Programs offered: Include all programs on the OSU Extension site that have been tagged with your county. See what is a program on the OSU Extension website.

Links to the ‘What we do’ page are in your county’s navigation. Links to 4-H and Master Gardener can now be found with focus areas.

Social media & newsletters
When the content is for:

  • The county as a whole (e.g., county newsletter): These go in the orange quick link bar on the county landing page.
  • A particular topic or program (e.g., Eastern Oregon Gardening Newsletter): These go in the orange quick link bar on the relevant local focus areas. County Master Gardener and 4-H social media are already part of local program pages, but can also be added to relevant focus areas.

We recommend using announcements to promote new newsletter issues.

County subpages
Content that is currently in county subpages will be transitioned to local focus areas by EESC. If we aren’t sure how to make the content fit, we’ll work with you to find a solution.

Eastern Oregon website trainings this week

You are invited to attend in-person trainings in Eastern Oregon this week:

  • Malheur County office on Wed., April 24: 10am-noon, lunch break, then continues 1-3pm. If anyone wants more personal, hands on instruction, contact Bobbi Howell.
  • Union County office on Thurs., April 25: 10am-noon, lunch break, then continues 1-3pm. If anyone wants more personal, hands on instruction, contact Sherry Nantz.

The trainings will focus on using the new county page designs. Please bring your questions and a laptop if possible, so we can work with you on your county pages. For questions about the location or accommodation, please contact Bobbi Howell (Malheur County) or Sherry Nantz (Union County). For questions related to the training, contact Bryan Mayjor or Victor Villegas.

Getting help

  • Attend our office hours starting April 26th on Tuesdays and Fridays. Visit by WebEx, in person or by phone.
  • As always, you are welcome to contact us if you have a question or suggestion.

Mockups & a shout out

A shout out to Carrie Berger and the forestry team for the awesome content they developed for county subpages! This content provided an inspiration and starting place for the focus area mockups below.

Focus area mockup with annotations.
Click mockup to view larger version.

Focus area mockup.
Click mockup to view larger version.

New county page designs launching this week!

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The updated designs provide a way to share and highlight what OSU Extension does within our counties and helps to:

  • Provide a landing spot for local relationships: These pages provide a place where people can find what is offered in their county and learn the local context of programs and other county offerings.
  • Provide guidance for finding resources: These pages provide ways to help users visiting county pages find educational resources on the OSU Extension website.
  • Decrease duplicate content entry: When one faculty member works in multiple counties, focus areas provide a way for them to enter county or region specific information about a topic or program. This info can then be shared on other relevant counties.
  • Prioritize local content: Local events and announcements will be given priority. They will display before and display separate from other tagged events (e.g., other events you might be interested in).

What is coming this week

  • County landing pages: We updated the county designs based on your feedback and posted the new county designs.
  • Local focus area content: County offices can highlight what you do in your county and share the local context. See below for an example.
  • What we do page: This page displays a list of local focus areas and programs offered in this county.
  • County events: There will be a new events page to display all county related events. And ways to highlight a few upcoming events on county landing page and on focus areas.

Please keep in mind design modifications will remain an iterative process. Expect the look and feel to evolve, the functionality to be fine-tuned.

Shout outs

Thank you to Amy Schmid, Jenifer Halter and Laurie Gibson for working with us last week to help us test out county content in the new county designs.

How to prepare

  • Review new county designs and think about any content you need to create.
  • Find or take a photo of your county office to help people find your building. This will display with the county contact info.
  • See training options below.
  • County group coordinators, keep an eye out for an email from us this week when the changes and new features are live and ready for you to use.

Training

  • Watch video on how to create local focus areas.

Visit our new user guide to learn:

Getting help and providing feedback

  • Contact us to schedule one-on-one help sessions
  • Attend office hours. Our team will be available for weekly office hours after the new county designs launch.
  • As always, you are welcome to contact us if you have a question or suggestion.

Thank you

Thank you for sharing your feedback and challenges related to the county pages and the site as a whole. Please continue to share any feedback on how these changes are working for your counties and teams.

Examples of new county page designs

Example county landing page

Example focus area

County page design preview. And a thank you.

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UPDATE: Designs were updated April 10, 2019 based on your feedback. Thanks for your input!

We gave a sneak-peak of the new county landing page design at the Extension Annual Conference during Tuesday morning’s “Ask the Experts About the New Extension Website” session. See design below.

In January on your county’s landing page (homepage), you will be able to add a large hero image, background photos or shading, and calls to action. You can add a ‘quick links bar’ featuring four links to social media, events, newsletters, etc. Also highlight priority county/local programs, activities and resources.

Below is an example of Yamhill County that shows different design features you can apply. Think about how your current content will best fit into this style and where you need to write some text or find some photos.

Full details on how to create this look will be provided when design elements are ready on the live website. Please send us questions or what you think about the new designs!

Thank you

Thank you for sharing your feedback at the Extension Annual Conference. And thank you for your continued hard work to create and add content to the website.  We know this process isn’t always easy or straight forward. Together, we are making good progress! The website is growing as a place where Oregonians can come and easily find the amazing content you create and provide. We appreciate your hard work in making this site awesome!

Design with annotations

This is the design for large screens (desktop). Note: The wider you make your browser, the larger you will see the design. View full-sized annotated design.

Design without annotations

View full-sized design.