Web Philosophy

Goal

Establish a web philosophy that will drive the transformation of FAS digital content from a largely organization-based information architecture to an audience-focused, task- and content-based philosophy. This philosophy is the basis for the Web Policy.

University websites should . . .

• Be easy to use and accessible to all, catering to a wide range of skills, reading and comprehension levels, and access points
• Be user-focused and built around a task- and knowledge-based philosophy, minimizing the need for institutional knowledge or knowledge of organizational structure to accomplish tasks or find information
• Be cross-departmental or cross-organizational when necessary to support the task-based, knowledge-based philosophy
• Be built, maintained, improved, and changed based on data, analytics, and ongoing user experience (UX) research and evolving user and university needs
• Articulate the university brand and core values
• Help execute university strategic goals to be outlined in the university strategic plan
• Help achieve the aspirational goals outlined in the 42 initiatives in the university's strategic plan
• Provide measurable metrics of success
• Be part of a multi-modal, omni-channel communications plan
• Empower content owners to be content editors
• Have excellent customer support and training

The Web Philosophy applies to every page of a website, knowledgebase, or wiki and is oriented to a user’s journey, which is often cross-organizational. While a familiar structure can help us complete tasks and find information more easily, within an institution the size and complexity of The University of Texas at Austin, following an organizational structure for website content and task completion only benefits those with the required institutional knowledge, at the expense of others.

Think of the associated Web Policy as a user’s guide to implementing the Web Philosophy. Following the policy will help you create the best possible web content for your users while you improve your website’s usability, accessibility, readability, and searchability. The time spent on your website will come back to you in less time spent answering basic user questions or supporting common actions allowing you to concentrate on advanced support or creating new offerings.

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