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P1 Running a Public Website Day to Day

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Lesson 2 of 8 · Video

Publishing a page the right way

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1 minute 4 seconds. Captions are on. Recorded in the Try LFW sandbox on Dunmere State University, a fictional site. The narration is a synthesized voice; a recorded voice replaces it later. Not done yet.

Before a new page goes live, give it an owner, a clear title and address, real headings, a second reader and a date to review it.

Notes

Step 1 of 8

Start here

Most pages on a public website are published once and never looked at again. The few minutes before you click Publish decide whether the page stays useful for years or turns into the outdated page a resident complains about.

This lesson is a routine for every new page, and for every big change to an old one.

Step 2 of 8

Step 1: Check whether the page already exists

Search your own site before you write. If there is already a leaf pickup page, update it. Two pages on one topic will drift apart, and residents will find the wrong one. If an old page is being replaced, plan its redirect now (lesson 7).

Step 3 of 8

Step 2: Name an owner and a review date

Every page gets two facts, written where your team can see them (a field in the editor, a column in your page list or a note at the bottom of the page):

  • Owner: the person or department who knows whether the content is right.
  • Review by: a date. Seasonal pages get a date before the season. Stable pages get a date within a year.

You may publish the page, but the owner is the one who answers for its facts. When the review date arrives, the owner confirms or corrects.

Step 4 of 8

Step 3: A title and address residents understand

The title names the task in residents' words: "Leaf pickup," not "Seasonal Vegetative Debris Program." The address (the URL) should be short, lowercase, with words separated by hyphens:

  • Good: /public-works/leaf-pickup
  • Bad: /page-2-final, /LeafPickup_NEW, /node/4812

People read, type and print addresses. Avoid years in the address of a page that will be updated each year. Put the year in the content instead.

Try it Which address is right for the leaf pickup page?

Show the answer

C. /public-works/leaf-pickup. Short, lowercase, hyphens and no year: the page is updated every fall, so the address never has to change.

Step 5 of 8

Step 4: Structure and accessibility

Before publishing, check the editor's share of WCAG 2.1, Level AA, the standard the Department of Justice's Title II rule adopts:

  • Headings made with the heading styles, in order.
  • Link text that says where it goes.
  • Alt text on informative images, and empty alt text on decorative ones.
  • No information carried by color alone.
  • A web page instead of a PDF where you can.

Accessible Content Basics covers each of these in its own lesson.

Step 6 of 8

Step 5: Preview on a phone, then a second reader

Use the editor's preview on a phone, or publish to a draft link and open it there. Check that tables do not run off the screen and that the first screen shows what the reader came for.

For anything with fees, deadlines, eligibility or legal effect, have a second person read it before it goes live. The owner is usually the right reader. A typo in a fee amount is a phone call for weeks.

Remember: Anything with fees, deadlines or legal effect gets a second reader before it goes live.

Step 7 of 8

Step 6: Publish, then check the live page

After publishing:

  1. Open the live page in a private browser window, where you are not signed in, so you see what residents see.
  2. Click every link on it.
  3. Link to it from where residents will look: the parent page, the department page, the menu if it belongs there.
  4. If it replaces an old page, set the redirect from the old address.
  5. Record the owner and review date in your page list.

Step 8 of 8

What not to do

  • Do not paste from Word without clearing the formatting. Hidden styles can break headings and fonts.
  • Do not publish placeholder text such as "Coming soon" or "Info to follow." Publish when the page is useful.
  • Do not create a new page for each year's version of the same thing, such as "Leaf pickup 2025" and "Leaf pickup 2026." Update one page.
Try it It is October. Where does this year's leaf pickup schedule go?

Show the answer

B. The existing Leaf pickup page, updated. One page, updated every year. Otherwise last year's page keeps showing up in search and sends residents out on the wrong Saturday.

Sources

Transcript

Synthesized narration; a recorded voice replaces it later.

  1. 0:00This is the page editor on Dunmere State, a fictional university site in the Try LFW sandbox. We are adding a new page about parking permits.
  2. 0:10Start with a title in the words a student or visitor would use: Parking permits.
  3. 0:15Add the first section with a real heading, made with the heading style, not bold text. Then one short paragraph.
  4. 0:23Add the second section: how to apply, as a short numbered list.
  5. 0:31At the bottom, name the owner and a review date, so one office answers for these facts.
  6. 0:37Set a short address: lowercase, with words joined by hyphens.
  7. 0:43Preview the page at phone width before it goes live. Check that the first screen shows what the reader came for.
  8. 0:50Publish. WordPress asks you to confirm, so check the address and visibility once more, then publish.
  9. 0:57Open the live page and read it once as a resident would. Then link to it from the pages where people look for it.

Task

Your task at your institution

Quiz

4 questions. Choose one answer for each, then check them. Each answer shows its reason.

1. Someone asks for a new page about leaf pickup. What do you check first?
2. Which page address is best?
3. What does every new page need before it goes live?
4. After you click Publish, what is left to do?
Show the answers
  1. B. Whether a page about leaf pickup already exists. Duplicate pages drift apart and give residents two different answers.
  2. B. /public-works/leaf-pickup. Short, lowercase, words separated by hyphens, and it says what the page is.
  3. A. An owner and a review date. A page with no owner and no review date is the page that goes stale.
  4. B. Open the live page on a phone and check it, then link to it from where residents look. Previews can differ from the live page, and a page nobody links to is hard to find.