“If only we could renew our web page”

Even intending to renew a web site with over 10 years of documents was an uphill struggle. The renewal process was really an adventure and a learning process. 

A tiring but educative journey

For the web site works we have started the process with a tender, however the selected provider ran off without a trace after the second visit. Then we started all over again with a second tender. The technical requirements were “fine-tuned” after our first experience. While writing the technical specifications we have analyzed the needs of the new web site requirements based on our observations from the previous one. For us, the important aspects were accessibility, responsiveness and the user-friendly interface. Since  I am not a technical guru I will not go into the technical details, maybe one of my colleagues can…

In order to specify the contents of the web page we have analyzed the below data & added the necessary requirements to the specification:

• The rate of access via cell phones
• Access ratio based on locations
• Access ratio based on browser types

Then we have searched for an answer to the basic question “Why are we renewing our web page?”. It was old and out-dated but it had a visitor number over 55 thousand. This version could also be sufficient. We have renewed it because;

It would be easier to share the output of 3 different projects,

• The YBS management system is supported with the new version of the web page and new applications can be handled via this channel online,
• We want all the NGOs to find whatever information they need generally and also about our projects & news updates
• We could communicate better by our blogs and graphic animations, telling our side of the story in the projects.

To sum up we can say that we have renewed the web page to increase our visibility. You can ask why visibility is so important? However this topic can be a subject of another blog maybe…   

As I have mentioned this had been a tiring long process. However I like long runs and projects with a long period of time demanding patience. It is like preparing to a marathon, it is hard work. You have to think about every little detail from exercises to what you will wear.

In our web page we are working with a service provider that answers to all of the above-mentioned subjects. We have become a good team with the service providers Binbiriz. They have been a constant support for our demands, requests and questions. In spite of the pandemic conditions they have done a great job. We have made Zoom on-line meetings between Ankara and İstanbul, we have recorded them and followed each topic on the agenda via Trello application.

The whole process was like a school for us, not only bout project management but also to analyze the problems and refer to the service provider in a simplified manner. Last but not least all of the STGM team stood firm behind the project and gave much needed support for the renewal process. Contents reaching 20 thousand have been entered manually, translated to English, much of the data containing e-library, fund resources platforms, STGM publications and STGM classes were updated. 

We have won the uphill struggle by maintaining the connection between the old and the new, working in a meticulous way.