STAA conference: Building the Site (1)

STAA Conference, Washington DC, January 2002

Content

• A web site is a very public publication
• Developing the content requires
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  • Strong project management
  • Good writing and editing
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    • A good sense of audience
    • A sense of the "rhetoric" of the Web
    • Cogent, snappy "hooks" possibly with links to more detailed material
• Language
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  • Use language that is natural to your audience.
  • Avoid jargon -- use technical language only in parts of the site that would be of interest to specialists.
  • Speak to your audience using terms they find familiar -- the Internet is an informal place
  • The use of conversational but polite language, and complete sentences, appeals to most audiences.
• Good content is made easier with
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  • A clear sense of direction about the organization's goals
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    • Have the Board and the Artistic Director made decisions about the site?
    • What are the priorities (sales, education, fund-raising?)
  • What do you really want to communicate?

Red check marks highlight points that will be of interest to established sites as well as new ones.