It's called "the web" for a reason
Something I've come across, having worked with multiple clients, is the idea of having their sites be the sorta "end-all-be-all" of information-- linking/leading to anything externally is frowned upon (from the client point-of-view).
One client this week pushed for a photo gallery page mechanically working from within the CMS (content management system... similar to Wordpress or Tumblr), functioning so that all photos are uploaded/downloaded from the website itself. Some of our best practices implement Flickr as an avenue for viewing and grabbing photos-- it's worked in the past pretty well for other clients. Simply embedding a feed onto the page works fine and doesn't look too bad.
The client's rationale is to have the user stay on the site and not have to go somewhere else to gather info. In a way, I sympathize with this mindset because you want your site to provide all the information you need.
But it got me thinking about the community aspect of website/content development and the "web" side of the internet equation.
Using the web as an actual avenue for weaving content can create a strong and stable web presence.
Earlier this year, I sat down for a Meet Content webinar called "Effective Content Curation for Higher Ed", which doubled down on this idea of having the user both enter and leave your site for the sake of the content. You can check it out below.
Effective Content Curation in Higher Ed from meetcontent
I believe it was Georgy Cohen (I could be wrong) who conducted the 'nar and talked about content at her old job at Tufts University (I believe) which implemented "orange" and Pinterest as mechanisms for content. She had users leave the university site to visit an "orange"-centric Pinterest board, that added to the overall user/college experience (UX).
If content needs to be grabbed externally, then the idea of leaving the site should not be frowned upon, but rather embraced as part of your site's overall content web.
I'm currently curating content my school's "Life at ___" section, which is coming out nicely. But I've invited the idea of having students explore the facets of this page, which do lead them elsewhere. But if the experience is positive and their content needs are fulfilled, then I expect they'll come back.
Clients should maintain this attitude of open-ness and community, which can only help keep their content fresh and fluid.
Let me know what your opinion is.
If you have questions, e-mail me at [email protected]
