Content Strategy & Sitemap
Good morning Drew and Fr. Ron,
I hope you have been doing well since you last spoke with Alan!
My name is Maggie ONeill and my role here in Diocesan's Web Department is as a Content Specialist. This means, that in addition to going over what areas of your current website are staying or going, I also help you find the most effective way to layout your website. This not only helps us build you a website that is easier to edit and manage but also allows anyone visiting your website to accurately and consistently find the information for which they are looking.
Below are links to a Google document of your proposed sitemap. The proposed sitemap is what we suggest for your menu based on our previous experience and what would work best in terms of usability. The proposed sitemap is created to optimize the flow and look of your site.
You can edit the proposed sitemap however you would like, adding pages, removing pages, etc. The proposed sitemap will act as a guide for the content migration process. Please edit the document directly to ensure that the same edits stay throughout all versions and that the content migration process is accurate. Also attached below is a quick how to video on understanding how a sitemap is organized. I am available to meet via Google Meet to clear up any questions you may have as well, just reach out and let me know by replying to this thread.
As you know Drew, I'm a parishioner at the Basilica. You absolutely made the right call in choosing Diocesan and I'm so excited to have the opportunity to work with you as we get this new site up and running!
Let me know if you have any questions,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Drew Anderson
Thank you Maggie,
So excited to be working with you!
Fr. Ron and I are having a meeting Tuesday about the site map and our thoughts. Once we finish that, we will reply back to you with a rough idea of what we are looking for and the work we have already done on a site map.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Drew
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
So excited to be working with you!
Fr. Ron and I are having a meeting Tuesday about the site map and our thoughts. Once we finish that, we will reply back to you with a rough idea of what we are looking for and the work we have already done on a site map.
Have a great weekend!
God Bless,
Drew
Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
Maggie ONeill
Good morning Drew,
That sounds great! I'm looking forward to seeing what you and Fr. Ron come up with.
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie
That sounds great! I'm looking forward to seeing what you and Fr. Ron come up with.
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie
Drew Anderson
Hi Maggie,
Apologies about the wait but here is a proposed website map!
[https://res-2.cdn.office.net/assets/mail/file-icon/png/docx_16x16.png]Website Map.docx<https://dofgr-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/aanderson_basilicagr_org/EQLcAmYp_4JMnOCmjB7Dr-EBLzL03GPkWvQeDVqKlkZ7wQ?e=VN46Io>
Let me know what you think as a parishioner as well!
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:ecf31b97-b30c-4173-ba73-ae59b66c40a8]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
Apologies about the wait but here is a proposed website map!
[https://res-2.cdn.office.net/assets/mail/file-icon/png/docx_16x16.png]Website Map.docx<https://dofgr-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/aanderson_basilicagr_org/EQLcAmYp_4JMnOCmjB7Dr-EBLzL03GPkWvQeDVqKlkZ7wQ?e=VN46Io>
Let me know what you think as a parishioner as well!
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:ecf31b97-b30c-4173-ba73-ae59b66c40a8]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
Maggie ONeill
Hi Drew,
No worries! I know how busy you are.
This is a pretty unconventional sitemap but, for the most part, I like it. There are a few things that really work and a few small things I think we need to tweak (there is some redundancy that we want to eliminate and a few things that probably need to be shifted for the sake of navigability). In general we want to keep parent page titles to one word, two words tops. I'll make these changes in our shared Google doc and you can let me know what you think.
Just to make things easier as we move forward, could you make any future changes to the sitemap in the Google doc that we shared with you? That's what I'll be going off of when we start migrating content.
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
No worries! I know how busy you are.
This is a pretty unconventional sitemap but, for the most part, I like it. There are a few things that really work and a few small things I think we need to tweak (there is some redundancy that we want to eliminate and a few things that probably need to be shifted for the sake of navigability). In general we want to keep parent page titles to one word, two words tops. I'll make these changes in our shared Google doc and you can let me know what you think.
Just to make things easier as we move forward, could you make any future changes to the sitemap in the Google doc that we shared with you? That's what I'll be going off of when we start migrating content.
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Drew Anderson
Definitely will make the changes on the google doc in the future.
The thought behind the redundancy is that some things fit under community and some fit under formation (Go Deeper with Us), that way we hit both (doesn't need to be that way). I think if we had a parent menu that dropped down like https://www.hsparish.org/, then we should do away with any redundancy.
Kind of working of this website. https://littleflowerchurch.org/ I did get permission from them to use that same exact wording.
That being said, anything that shortens it up but keeps the same impact, I'm all about. Navigating is also very important. We want people to be able to find things easily and efficiently.
Thank you Maggie and so excited to be working with you on this project.
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:3a6e2b1b-d02f-4ab6-bd54-ecae2d28b1b5]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
The thought behind the redundancy is that some things fit under community and some fit under formation (Go Deeper with Us), that way we hit both (doesn't need to be that way). I think if we had a parent menu that dropped down like https://www.hsparish.org/, then we should do away with any redundancy.
Kind of working of this website. https://littleflowerchurch.org/ I did get permission from them to use that same exact wording.
That being said, anything that shortens it up but keeps the same impact, I'm all about. Navigating is also very important. We want people to be able to find things easily and efficiently.
Thank you Maggie and so excited to be working with you on this project.
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:3a6e2b1b-d02f-4ab6-bd54-ecae2d28b1b5]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
Maggie ONeill
Awesome, I appreciate the context and examples! I posted some comments and suggestions on your sitemap in the Google doc. There are really only a few items that I would recommend shifting around or consolidating and a couple things that I added. Please let me know what you think!
Also (speaking more as a parishioner here) now might be a good time to think about getting some fresh photos taken of the Basilica, if you haven't already. In general photo quality makes a huge impact on the look and feel of a site and it's ideal to keep photos current within the last three years or so. I have a DSLR camera and some casual photography experience so I would be willing to shoot some pictures of things as a volunteer, but I think it would also be worth finding someone else from the parish who has professional photography experience. I know Kaylee Bueche took some amazing photos of the Easter vigil so it might be worth booking a shoot with her. Once we get started on content migration it will be very helpful if you already have some folders of the church, programs, events, parish life, fresh staff photos, etc. set aside. Just a thought!
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Also (speaking more as a parishioner here) now might be a good time to think about getting some fresh photos taken of the Basilica, if you haven't already. In general photo quality makes a huge impact on the look and feel of a site and it's ideal to keep photos current within the last three years or so. I have a DSLR camera and some casual photography experience so I would be willing to shoot some pictures of things as a volunteer, but I think it would also be worth finding someone else from the parish who has professional photography experience. I know Kaylee Bueche took some amazing photos of the Easter vigil so it might be worth booking a shoot with her. Once we get started on content migration it will be very helpful if you already have some folders of the church, programs, events, parish life, fresh staff photos, etc. set aside. Just a thought!
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Drew Anderson
Thanks for the work Maggie!
I made some comments off yours and appreciate the collaboration! Please let me know what you think and working through this together.
Totally agree with pictures. If you would like to take pictures that would be great. I think we could also get some of the ones that Kaylee already took and there are a few other professional photographers in the parish that I think would be willing to give of their talent. As we are building out the site map it would be great to identify what pictures would be great to have, for example having pictures of RCIA on the Becoming Catholic Page. We could take some of the ones that Nancy took earlier in the year as well as make sure for the future to take pictures as we go along in the process. What might you think would be good pictures to have and in what type of style?
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:df61a3ea-ecc0-4657-a2a0-e34cc9542049]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
I made some comments off yours and appreciate the collaboration! Please let me know what you think and working through this together.
Totally agree with pictures. If you would like to take pictures that would be great. I think we could also get some of the ones that Kaylee already took and there are a few other professional photographers in the parish that I think would be willing to give of their talent. As we are building out the site map it would be great to identify what pictures would be great to have, for example having pictures of RCIA on the Becoming Catholic Page. We could take some of the ones that Nancy took earlier in the year as well as make sure for the future to take pictures as we go along in the process. What might you think would be good pictures to have and in what type of style?
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:df61a3ea-ecc0-4657-a2a0-e34cc9542049]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
Maggie ONeill
Good morning Drew,
Thanks for your work on the sitemap! Looks like we're on the same page about what you're looking for in terms of organization and structure.
As for photos, I personally think that high-quality candids/action shots and artful photos of the facility tend to look best on sites. Posed photos of groups are fine but not ideal in my opinion. Ultimately that's a matter of taste though.
If we can find a time sometime relatively soon I'd love to come in and take some photos of the inside and outside of the Basilica and St. Mary's. I know for sure we'll want those. I'd also be happy to do fresh staff photos if that's something that needs to be done. We'll probably want some photos of mass and Cor Jesu, choir rehearsal, action shots of adult and youth faith formation and community events like Holy Spirits, and photos that represent/depict all sacraments.
Otherwise I think a good first step would be to get photos from Kaylee, Nancy, and whoever else and put them into a Google Drive organized by subject (Easter, faith formation, community, etc.) and then I can identify what photos we'll still need and some good examples of the style of photos that we're looking for. How does that sound?
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Thanks for your work on the sitemap! Looks like we're on the same page about what you're looking for in terms of organization and structure.
As for photos, I personally think that high-quality candids/action shots and artful photos of the facility tend to look best on sites. Posed photos of groups are fine but not ideal in my opinion. Ultimately that's a matter of taste though.
If we can find a time sometime relatively soon I'd love to come in and take some photos of the inside and outside of the Basilica and St. Mary's. I know for sure we'll want those. I'd also be happy to do fresh staff photos if that's something that needs to be done. We'll probably want some photos of mass and Cor Jesu, choir rehearsal, action shots of adult and youth faith formation and community events like Holy Spirits, and photos that represent/depict all sacraments.
Otherwise I think a good first step would be to get photos from Kaylee, Nancy, and whoever else and put them into a Google Drive organized by subject (Easter, faith formation, community, etc.) and then I can identify what photos we'll still need and some good examples of the style of photos that we're looking for. How does that sound?
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Drew Anderson
Sounds great! I think a Google Drive Folder would be great for this. I don't have it right with me but I know we have a Gmail account for the Basilica when we are needing Google capabilities (we work with the Microsoft platform at the office). I can work to get a shared folder going that we can dump photos into. I like the organization structure you provide!
I don't think we will use any photos of St. Mary's. They have their own website and they are a separate parish from us.
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:e4279a92-3fe0-4b58-9ca8-83df294e5bf1]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
I don't think we will use any photos of St. Mary's. They have their own website and they are a separate parish from us.
God Bless,
Drew
[cid:e4279a92-3fe0-4b58-9ca8-83df294e5bf1]Drew Anderson • Director of Religious Education and Formation
Basilica of St. Adalbert
654 Davis Ave. NW • Grand Rapids, MI 49504
616.278.1176
www.basilicagr.org<http://www.basilicagr.org>
Maggie ONeill
Good morning Drew,
Sorry for the delayed response! A shared Google Drive sounds like a great idea. It would be best if you set that up so that you have those photos stored on your Drive. We regularly go through our Google Drive account here at Diocesan and clear things out, so if we are the owners of the folder then you risk loosing those photos when it comes time to go in and delete old files.
Now that your sitemap is settled, you probably won't hear from me much until your site is up in the content queue, but feel free to text me or use my personal email if you want to talk more about photos and that sort of thing. Like I said, I'm happy to help through this process in any way I can as a parishioner and volunteer. I'd be happy to reach out to Kaylee and Nancy on my own time and coordinate photo sharing once that drive is set up.
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817
Sorry for the delayed response! A shared Google Drive sounds like a great idea. It would be best if you set that up so that you have those photos stored on your Drive. We regularly go through our Google Drive account here at Diocesan and clear things out, so if we are the owners of the folder then you risk loosing those photos when it comes time to go in and delete old files.
Now that your sitemap is settled, you probably won't hear from me much until your site is up in the content queue, but feel free to text me or use my personal email if you want to talk more about photos and that sort of thing. Like I said, I'm happy to help through this process in any way I can as a parishioner and volunteer. I'd be happy to reach out to Kaylee and Nancy on my own time and coordinate photo sharing once that drive is set up.
Thanks and God bless,
Maggie ONeill
Web Content Specialist
Diocesan.com
1 (800) 994-9817