What Makes a Good Library Web Site

Here are just a few things that I think a modern library web site needs.

  • Flexibility
    • One of the major problems that I have faced in designing websites is that what seems like a great idea at the time, can paint you into a corner later. Designing with a little room to change over time is a great way to not find yourself having to do a total redesign a year after you launch your website.
  • Ease of updating
    • Unless you have a team of dedicated content providers your website is going to be updated by your staff.  To help them along, most are not web developers remember, your site needs to be easy to update, have a simple to effective wysiwyg editor and media management system.
  • Modular
    • Do you need to add some new functionality down the road? A new gallery or RSS feed. Make sure that you’re site is modular so that you can easily add new bits of code to it without needing an overhaul to the entire site.
  • Easy to Use
    • Your patrons need to be able to find what they are looking for. One of the biggest sins I’ve seen on library websites is over crowding. They want to offer everything to the patron, so they fill the home page to the brim with links and pictures, the result is that the patrons doesn’t know where to look, let alone find what they were looking for.
  • Interfacing with proprietary systems
    • You’ve got a catalog system, you have a calendar system, maybe you have a chat or instant messaging system.  Getting these third party programs to look like they are part of your website and not just tacked on can be extremely difficult, but when done well, they can make the user experience seem cohesive.
  • Responsive
    • Today is the day of mobile, if your website is not mobile optimized you’re missing out.  The mobile market is growing more and more every day and if you’re site is unusable on your patrons tablet, or smartphone then they’ll just go to Google or Amazon.

These are just a few of the things that a good library site needs. If you’ve got other ideas. Let me know in the comments.


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