Before you start
This guidance is for anyone thinking of producing content for our website. It's designed to help us lay the right foundations and minimise the risk of problems further down the line.
Whether we are being proactive or reactive, there are a few things that it's important we consider before we create new content for the Mind website.
We've invested in a new website content system, and now we need to make sure that we're using it to the best of its ability. Website content can make a difference to the performance of projects, whether they're income generating, sign ups to activity, or people receiving support through us.
Things to consider
Thinking about the things below right at the beginning saves us time and possible issues down the road. It also maximises our chances of creating effective web content, efficiently.
Maintenance
To make sure that our website content continues to be high quality and relevant to our users, we need to make sure we continue to maintain it, a bit like tending to a garden.
Think about what will happen to the content six months, a year, two years after it's published. How often will it need updating? Who will be responsible for ensuring it stays accurate and relevant? Redundant, out-of-date, trivial content (ROT) damages our users' experience and our brand.
Safety
Mental health is a sensitive topic. Because of the nature of our work, we need to take great care with the language we use and the messages we share. Especially when giving advice.
Will the content include advice for people affected by mental health problems? If so, an information support officer will need to review the content to make sure that it is safe for our users.
Strategy
Will the content support at least one of these ultimate aims for the site, which tie in with the organisational mission?
- Provide advice and support.
- Raise awareness and funds.
If the answer is no, it probably isn't right for the website. The digital engagement team can advise you on how to make your content more strategic, or how to adapt it for a more suitable channel.
Team
Our content is better when we work together. Building the best team to make each piece of content as good as it can be makes our website more effective and our lives easier.
What roles, skills and experience are needed to realise this content?
If the content will:
- require changes to be made to on other existing web content,
- have a high volume of traffic, or
- create a potential risk to the organisation,
you'll need to submit a comms request. The head of digital engagement reviews comms request on a biweekly basis and assigns the appropriate digital resource to content production.
Translation
Mind Cymru is dedicated to improving mental health in Wales. The Mind website is one of the tools we use to do that. So it's crucial for us to think about Welsh language content.
Will this content need to be translated into Welsh? If so, you'll need to factor in time and money for translation and additional time for uploading the different versions to the website. You should also read our writing for translation guidelines.
Next steps
Now you've got the right people on board, any necessary measures to protect our users, our staff and the Mind brand in place, and a clear sense of how the content contributes to the organisational strategy, it's time to choose the right template. Click on the "next" button below for guidance on how to do this.