I first took on responsibility for the website of the Language Media Center (LMC) at the University of Iowa in 2001.

At that time, like most websites, site pages were designed with basic HTML using Dreamweaver and the site was mostly a static reference.

In 2011, the University of Iowa began the process of migrating all administrative and departmental websites over to a content management system (CMS). A few options were considered, but eventually Drupal was chosen as the platform to build upon. Enterprise-wide standardization of layout and design centralized and reduced the workload of those responsible for website management. This shift in focus resulted in more time and energy being spent on site content.

The transition at the University of Iowa toward the use of content management systems is reflective of a broad shift in the website design and development industry. The use of CMS creates a mechanism for better collaborative multi-authored websites, allowing for fast and easy content creation with consistency.

Ultimately, it’s quality content that brings visitors to a site and keeps them coming back. With this in mind, along with an awareness of SEO related content issues, one of the goals I’ve had in maintaining the content on the LMC site is to regularly create relevant fresh content and links. Adding embedded video and presentation content has resulted in increased traffic to the site.

In addition to myself, another colleague helps to maintain the site by updating existing content and providing new content. This is increasingly common now that websites can be multi-authored. In its current form, the site represents a collective effort. Much of the content on the site was pulled from a brochure written by a colleague of mine, and edited by our team at the office. As with most websites, the final product is the result of many people providing input.

Click the image below to visit the website.