News & Notes November 2006

Telling the Story on the Web
Educational Mini-Grant Funded Webpages

Q: What can expand your outreach, get forms out to the public without a postage stamp, and provide much needed information to your constituents any time, day or night?
A: A website!

In this age of information, a well-developed and maintained website can enhance your programs, educate your users, and allow you to more effectively and efficiently communicate with large numbers of people. Just ask some of the district staff who successfully utilize websites.

The website has really expanded the outreach of Lancaster County Conservation District (CCD) to the public, says Matt Kofroth. He receives fewer phone calls, but their outreach capabilities have increased because more people can learn about watershed efforts on their own time and schedule, as opposed to only during nine-to-five work hours.

Michele Ulmer (Pike CCD) tells that although their site was designed for educators, they have found that these are not their primary users. They are currently revising their website for the people that most often use it: those wanting permit forms, registering a complaint, or wanting program information.

At Monroe CCD, Roger Spotts comments that they receive between three to ten emails a week from website users and this allows them to respond and follow-up with people. Their county watershed page is used by teachers and the public to get more information about county water resources. And the website has even attracted interns to their organization!

People like to go to websites that are user-friendly, updated regularly, and interactive, says Trish Attardo at Monroe CCD. She has provided the web address during presentations, to those interested in becoming involved in a local watershed group, and to those working on a school project.

Several webpages and website updates have been funded through the Chesapeake Bay and Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) Educational Mini-Grant program in the past few years. Through this program, we can offer assistance to districts to update or create webpages with educational messages about the Chesapeake Bay, NPs pollution issues, and watershed protection.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, maybe seeing some of the district webpages out there will provide a "picture" of what works as an educational message. Go to the PACD website's Conservation District Directory page (http://www.pacd.org/districts/directory.htm). Click on the county website you want to review. Once at the website, click on the program pages listed.

District Websites with Educational Messages
Take a look at these websites if you're thinking about updating or creating webpages on these subjects:

Other Tips for Improving Your Website (from PACD Webmaster, Shannon Wehinger, Mark Jackson of Westmoreland CCD and others)

Do:

• Keep the site focused as to how the target audience benefits from your conservation district's programs and activities.
  
• Limit your information on the history of your conservation district and what it is. Current information is more in demand than history lessons.
  
• The homepage is important. Consider having multiple blocks of information (news, hot topics, announcements, etc.) to engage the visitor with "read more" links to take them further into the site. Update regularly.
  
• Do not launch a new website or new pages with dead "under construction" pages here and there. These frustrate visitors. Better to add completed sections and "grow" the site as they are complete and ready.
  
• Use photos and graphics to illustrate points - but don't go overboard. Too many photos means the download time to view the page may be too long. Keep photo size to a minimum.
  
• Update your site weekly.
  
• Organize the website as much as possible.
  
• Include district contact information, address, phone, fax, email address.
  
• Use contrasting colors for background and text but do not use ultra bright text - it is too hard on the eyes to read.
  
• Frequently check the links on your website to make sure they work.
  
• Have a search feature on your website so users can find content easily - Google offers a free search tool.
  
• Date your articles, publications, and events.
  
• Link to PACD's website - coming soon: NPs and CB sections on our website. Stay tuned.
  
• When you link to another site, with the intent of the viewer going to a specific topic or page, use the URL for that page, not the homepage.
  
• Look into getting professional help designing and setting up the site. Then, have the pages set so that you can update your website in-house (calendars, adding publications, or links). Several software packages exist to do this.
  
• Consider using a team approach to update and maintain your website. Better to have two staff trained to update information, in case one is busy, sick, ceases employment, etc.
  
• Save paperwork and postage by posting frequently used forms and other materials.
  
• Promote the website by including it in your paper publications and district stationery along with the address and phone number.
  

Don't:

• Don't clutter up the homepage - use navigation bars to organize content.
  
• Don't use graphics or publications/text from other sources without their permission and be sure to site your source on the page.
  
• Keep spelling or grammar mistakes to a minimum. It reflects poorly on your organization. Proofread!
  
• The only thing worse than no website is having an outdated website. Better to not have a newsletter section or calendar at all than to offer something that is not current. (If you keep your newsletters up-to-date, DO keep old ones up as well if they contain educational articles.)
  

Also check out the Website Development page on PACD's website for more useful tips: http://www.pacd.org/resources/website_development.htm.

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