Creation

The Web presence is a vital asset to the University, its image and its identity. It is often the first contact with prospective students, faculty and staff. It is sometimes the sole means of connection we have with an audience. The Web has become a primary means of outreach to both prospective and current members of our campus community in many areas. Therefore it is essential we provide a Web experience that is both unified and of the highest standard for all our audiences, through identity, design, navigation, accessibility and reliability.

Image and Branding

A "brand" is the proprietary visual, emotional, rational, and cultural image one associates with a company, product and, in this case, Montclair State University. To reinforce the brand identity, it is important to the University to use consistent themes, graphics and ideas presented via the Web, as well as in print and other visual materials.

Objective Issues

While some creative aspects of presentation and interactive media are subjective, there are many aspects of Web design, creation and management that are functionally objective. Those objective aspects are dependent upon audience expectations, needs and technical capabilities as well as the producing client's technical and personnel resources and management goals. These areas include:

• Defining your audience and message:
  One message doesn't satisfy all. Therefore it is important to define your audiences. Because the Web combines so many media (print, images, interactivity, video, audio, etc.) you can often become overwhelmed with this process. The Web Services staff helps identify your audience and message, and determine the best way to convey and manage that message.
  
  
• Management:
  Resources, both staff (their time and technical skills) and financial, are always important considerations. To build a Web site takes a huge amount of time, energy and personnel resources. From conception, gathering of information, writing, developing graphical and interactive materials, review, testing and more review, a well-planned Web project requires resources.
  
  Budgeting both staff and financial resources is critically important in planning a Web site. It's important to the future and what it will mean to maintain all content, imagery, interactivity, etc. Web site visitors expect to find a well maintained site, at all times.
  
  
• Branding and Identity:
  The Montclair State University brand is visual, emotional, rational and cultural. Our identity is vital to our connection with all our audiences. The Montclair State University Web presence supports our identity through branding which comes from something as specific as our University logo, to the content of our message and the professional display of all. The University's identity and brand are reflective of our mission, goals and strategic plan. Web Services works within the construct of the University Communication plan to produce Web sites that promote the University brand and the identity of each department, division, college and school within the University.
  
  
• First Impressions:
  When an audience first sees your Web site, what do they think? Are they getting what they expect? Do they have the technical ability to see your Web site, given the multiple devices, versions of Web browsers, speeds of connection that are out there? All this impacts on their first impressions. Web Services will guide you through general design, content and the technical issues that affect first impressions.
  
  
• Navigation:
  Good navigation is the foundation of a good Web site. Aspects of good navigation include clear language, logical order, consistent main navigation on all pages, and can be as detailed as making sure you use attached text information to graphics that are links to other Web pages. Also, good navigation plans for expansion that doesn't require significant Web page reconstruction. Planning, testing and being responsive to audience needs and expectations, while considering accessibilities issues — these are some of the basics of good navigation.
  
  
• Accessibility and Usability:
  These are terms that may not seem applicable to Web sites, but they are essential. When you think of accessibility and usability you often think of disabilities. But that is not necessarily the case. Yes, we always need to build our Web sites for use via visual aids, such as those that 'read' Web pages to clients who are visually challenged. But we also should be conscious of the color of our links and backgrounds, the visual size of our text and links, the filesize of our images, the use of acronyms, and a whole host of other issues that are basic to good communication and good technical practices.
  
  
• Design:
  Many times this is the first thing we think of when planning a Web site and it really shouldn't be. The design of a Web site should always reflect the message, brand, identity of the University, it should target the defined audience, planning and taking into consideration management resources and the technical capabilities of the audience, while maintaining a very high standard of accessibility and usability.
  
  
Design also needs to make use of appropriate creative elements, such as animation. Such elements should support the target message, while being accessible and manageable.

Creating any Web site requires a considerable amount of research and planning, supported by frequent routine evaluation. Communications and Marketing's Web Services provides support in the development of both administrative and academic Web sites. For more technical details please view our Standards Web page.