If your union local is planning a web makeover, there are many, many things to consider. What is your site all about and trying to convey? What will you have on the site? Who are you looking to get the information to?

Many organizations are unsure of what they want or need for their site and need a bit of guidance. I’ve made this list to help ensure your local asks itself the right questions!

A. Setting the table: Broad questions for your local

1. What you are trying to communicate with members?
2. What does your local offer to members, etc.  Both specifically and more philosophically?
3. Where would you like the union to be in 5 years?
4. How are you currently promoting the local to members and to the public?

Answers to these questions will be a big help to you and your web developer in choosing a design and information structure that is right for you.

B. Knowing your audience: Who uses your site?

1. Who are your possible target audiences?

• Activist members
• Less active (or inactive) members you want to reach out to
• General public – for building support during bargaining or strikes,
• Other unions – for building support during bargaining or strikes, supporting them

Your site structure & organization will depend heavily on who will be reading the site

2. How will these users interact with the website? e.g. comments, discussion forums, contact forms, multimedia submissions

C. Taking stock: Your current website

1. What does your current site say about your organization?
2. What do you like on your current site?
3. What is redundant, outdated, trivial on the site?   What is missing?

D. Looking ahead: Your new or updated site

1. What are some of your ideas and needs for the new site?   Think of these as two separate things. e.g. [NEED] increasing connections with members, [IDEA] increasing use of audio and video for communication,…

2. Do you have some specific uses for the site? e.g. for an organizing drive? for bargaining?

3. Do you need one website or more than one to be able to fulfill these needs (eg. one main site and another site for a specific campaign)?

4. Focus on Functionality – There are a lot of bells and whistles available for websites and many of them can be very useful if used properly. But always remember to connect functionality to strategy. Technology should solve a specific problem or need.  Don’t add things you don’t need or can’t maintain.

Always ask, do i need it: e.g.. Facebook, newsletters, photo gallery,  press releases, events calendar. If so, use it!  If not, avoid the temptation!  This will keep your site clean and not cluttered with a bunch of distracting, unwanted tools.  Your web developer can help you through this process.

5. Updates to your site – what will change weekly, monthly, yearly? What will stay the same all the time?

6. What are your specific short-term website goals?  eg. over the next two months: 200 twitter followers, 25 likes on Facebook

Keep your site up-to-date

Nothing is more important than this (well, at least regarding your web content!).  On the web, as they say, content is king. A site with current information will come across as much more serious than one with an article on 2008 bargaining on its homepage.  It also helps show local members that movement is happening, which is exactly what a union is supposed to be about!   This does not mean that it must be updated daily like a news site would be, but it should be keeping members informed at a steady pace.

But how do you update content consistently and cost effectively when you need to call your web developer every time? This is where a switch to a user friendly, easy to update, content management system comes in.  You will be able to avoid costly and time consuming consultation and update your site whenever you need.  Have a bunch of photos from a rally you want up quickly?  Upload them instantly.  Want to let members know the latest bargaining information? You can in minutes.

Keep it Simple: Only have the latest and/or most important content on your homepage

You don’t want to clutter up your homepage or force readers to have to scroll down a long way to get to your information.  By the time they get half way down you page, they are sure to lose interest.   A better answer is to organize you site in such a way that those items you feel are very important can still be accesses easily without much digging around.

Build email communication with your members, focusing on action.

Even with social media growing as it has the past few years, email is still the most widely used form of communication on the web.  As well, email often feels more direct and personal and allows subscribers to read at their own pace.  It is a great way to build interaction with local members and to mobilize them for action. Most locals have email lists they send information to, but are sometimes unsure of what exactly to send beyond the latest update from the local.

No more than about 20% of emails should be simple information or updates.  Instead, if possible, most emails should be campaign and action oriented – even if the action is very simple, such as sending a letter to an MP or supporting a solidarity picket.  This is a good means to keep members engaged and to avoid the feeling that they are being ‘talked at’ rather than ‘conversed with’.  Emails could also encourage feedback, suggestions for the local, etc…  to build the two-way nature of the discussion.

reWORKit can help you build well-designed emails that members will be more likely to read and engage with and can also help with email campaign tips such as how often to email members.

Limit your categories

Organize your site in such a way that there are only 4-6 broad categories of information that readers see on first glance of your homepage.  This includes your about page and your contact link.  When you have too many categories, it becomes more difficult for readers to sort out what your site is all about.  You can always have ‘drop down’ menus within categories with more specific content.

This reWORKit website has 4 categories (plus a home button), offering readers a quick place to look for the information they need.  Given the website type, readers are most interested in ‘how reWORKit can help’ and are able to go directly to a self enclosed area to immediately find the information they want.  Good categorization is very simple, but will go a long way in allowing readers to quickly find what they want.