Work on Redesigned Agency Website Continues

If you will remember, we let you know last fall that our agency website would be undergoing a redesign. During some of chief administrator Paula Vincent’s recent “Chat with the Chief” sessions, staff members have been curious about the status of the website project, and we’re pleased to offer the following update on the site’s progress. 

Since we no longer have a web manager on staff, the Agency’s Communications Department has taken on the oversight of the website, keeping the front page updated and supporting maintenance of the site’s inside pages. The Agency has contracted with Global Reach, a professional website design and hosting firm from Ames, to redesign our site from the ground up. Much time has been spent on the process of the site’s design, and the feedback that staff members provided last fall by taking our short web use survey helped guide that process. Above you will see a screen shot of a sample front page. 

We are beginning to add content to the new site, and over the next month, we will work with staff who have been providing information on our current site to ensure a smooth transition to our new format. 

You can read below for some of the big picture ideas that the Communications Department has used during the redesign process. 

What are we trying to accomplish with our website? 
Heartland AEA is an educational service organization, and we want our website to positively reflect who we are, who we serve and what we do. A website is today’s front door into any business or organization. A quality website should provide our “customers” with a good first impression and give them a broad snapshot into what we do. It should have a professional and consistent look and feel, common language, jargon-free terminology and timely and accurate information. Having a website that is useful to customers builds our reputation and helps customers instill trust in us. 

Who is our audience? 
• Educators in 53 public school districts and 30 accredited non-public schools 
• School-aged students 
• Parents, especially whose children receive special education and related services 
• Job applicants 
• Staff members 
• Other educators (Department of Education, other AEAs) 
• External community agencies 

What do they search for? (as measured by our Google Analytics statistics) 
• Professional Development classes and registration 
• Jobs and application process 
• Media and library resources, including reservation and delivery 
• Online instructional and technology resources 
• Information on agency programs and services 
• Information about the schools we serve 
• Information about agency employees 
• Information about Iowa’s AEA system 

What do they expect from us: 
• High quality services and supports that are easily understood and accessed 
• Accurate, relevant and timely information 
• Consistent language, look and feel 

You are always welcome to provide feedback to the Communications Department (comms@aea11.k12.ia.us) about the website and to let us know when you find content on the site that needs updated. Note that there are webpages that have been deleted from our site that still appear in a Google search. We are aware of this, but please note that there is nothing we can do about this until the current site is taken offline.