From Columns Newsletter, Jan/Feb 2004
Visitors to the Society's recently published redesigned Web site, at www.wisconsinhistory.org, will quickly discover that the redesign presents much more than just another pretty face. though it is indeed nice to look at. Site developers used the latest findings about Internet use to create a site that would quickly get visitors to the information they want, while introducing them to the breadth of the resources available on the site.
Planning began in earnest in January 2003 and involved many Society staff persons led by Web Development Coordinator James Ellis and IT Director Paul Hedges. Ellis notes, "Our site, comprising more than three thousand pages as well as a dozen extensive applications and databases, is massive. In fact, it stands as one of the largest state historical society Web sites in the country, and with the addition of American Journeys' eighteen thousand pages, it may surpass them all."
The site caters to two sets of people: those who know what they want, and those who are just browsing. For the people who know what they want, it offers better navigation, better search tools, and a more open site design. For browsers, it does a better job showcasing right on the home page what's available, and then helping visitors jump to related materials that aren't necessarily part of that section (Web gurus call this "cross-pollination"). Amazingly, the thousands of pages currently online represent less than 1 percent of the Society's holdings. The potential material for the Web is staggering. The first step toward having a site that can support massive amounts of material and help visitors easily find it was creating a new framework that anticipates new sections of the Web site, new pages, new applications, and new databases. To avoid the patch-work effect, new pieces must fall seamlessly in with the current pieces. Ellis hopes the evolving site "shows new content without showing its growing pains."
"Our hope is that this redesign is a step towards the future. A step towards making our Web site a vital research tool. A step towards making Wisconsinites aware of what the Society can do for them. A step towards making the Society's holdings available to anyone on the Web.
The site won two awards from the Wisconsin Library Association (Coolest Site and Best Overall site).
My work on this site earned a Lyman Draper Award from the WHS Administration.