Free for All: Leveraging Remote UX Testing and No-Cost Online Tools for a CMS-based Site Redesign

Abstract

Periodic website redesign projects have become essential -- though often complex and costly -- measures that libraries take to ensure users’ ease of access to resources. Though administrators often enlist university web designers or even outside contractors to undertake these projects, librarians themselves can and should be at the center of any library website redesign. This is easier for libraries with employees who have considerable web development-related skills, but it is also within reach for libraries with smaller staff and limited web development skills. Indeed, free UX testing applications, basic office software, and open source or freely available CMSes such as Drupal make library website redesign projects both feasible and affordable. Generating buy-in and recruiting content editors to help build the new site are two vital measures for a successful redesign, as well as ongoing, post-launch maintenance. During our library website redesign, we leveraged both the communication of UX testing results and periodic peer training activities to create support, invite feedback or input, and recruit partners for content creation on the new site. As our site launched, we sustained the momentum of our peers’ involvement with the site by providing training materials, tech support, and targeted documentation. By combining freely available, user-friendly applications with a strategic, inclusive implementation process, even libraries with limited resources can successfully complete significant website redesign projects.