IDA Ireland

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IDA Ireland

• IDA Ireland is a government agency with
  responsibility for securing new investment from
  overseas in manufacturing and internationally
  traded services sectors. It also encourages
  existing investors to expand and develop their
  businesses.

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Marketing Department

• We work in the Marketing Department we work
  with our IT staff, other internal Departments,
  Developers and Consultants to create, maintain
  and market the site.
• The IDA Ireland website is a Marketing and
  Communications led site.
• We recognise that the web is a powerful tool in
  conducting business and that this is particularly
  true for IDA Ireland with our regional and
  internationally dispersed offices and audience.

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Overseas
Internal and External Site Development
Environment
Web Developers
Property
Accessibility Consultants
IT
Business Units
Locations
Marketing
Search Engine Marketing
Press
Web Traffic Analysis
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1998
2000
2002
2004
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Screen Shot of IDA Ireland Site
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Objectives of IDA Ireland Site

•     Primary audience is potential and existing
  overseas investor.
• Audience is International.
• Audience Profile Potential and Existing
  Clients
• Main objectives of the IDA website
• to provide relevant information to our target
  audience
• English Language sites, German, Japanese, Chinese
  and FAQS for Spanish, Italian and French
• We encourage and facilitate email enquiries and
  have a policy of answering queries within 24 to
  48 hours

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Challenge Overview

• Content on the site Always a key challenge
• Internal Challenge - getting buy in
• Design Consistency across site and across
  overseas sites
• Technical means of updating and adding new
  content in Dublin and by our Overseas Offices
• Addition of more language sites as necessary
• Companies Database
• Accessibility Compliance

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Content

• New Marketing Theme
• Ireland, Knowledge is in our nature
• Reflecting Internal Developments new
  activities, strategy

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Challenge Internal Buy In

• Internal Buy in
• Workshops,
• Web traffic Statistics visitors to
  sections,what they search to get to site,
  overseas visitors
• Need to communicate - The site could be the first
  port of call for a potential investor

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Challenge - Design

• Design
• Fresh, new look to site graphics and
  presentation of content
• Need for a system that would assist in imposing a
  consistent look across the site and overseas
  sites.

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Challenge Updating Content and New Sites

• Ease and Means of Updating
• Dublin and Overseas Sites
• Addition of Other Language Sites as necessary

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Challenge Companies Database

• Companies Database
• Updating 2 Databases !!!

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Challenge Accessibility

• Accessibility Standards Compliance
• Audit of then current site Upgrade added to
  planned site rather than trying to update the
  then current site.
• Training using the then current site as an
  example
• Guidelines for external contractors
• PDF Reports we added accessible HTML versions of
  our main reports to the site

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Audience Expectations
Challenges

• Content to be relevant
• Content to be up to date
• Content to be presented in an easily consumable
  way layout, navigation, search
• Other Investment Promotion Agencies
• Foreign Language Versions
• To be able to Access your site all users

Content
Design
Internal Buy In
Companies Database
Overseas Sites
Accessibility
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Content Management System

• It was decided that we would move the site into a
  Content Management System that we would develop
  to accommodate all of our needs and audience
  expectations.

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Solution Implementation

• Redevelop site technically and visually
• Custom built Content Management/ template driven
  System (CMS)
• Web Accessibility company
• Best to structure project
• Discovery Phase
• Functional specification outlining templates
• Accessibility requirements
• NB task project more successful

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CMS Technical Design Upgrade

• Design (templates, banners, maps and images)
• Development (headers and footers, CSS,
  Navigation, sitemanager set-up, Companies
  Database)
• Testing (testing of sitemanager, database and
  front end)
• Modifications Amendments (more testing!,
  migration of content to live server, developing
  manual and sign off!)
• (Time - Approximately 9 months not including
  migration and set up of German and Japanese sites
  )
• TIP keep an updated issues list and timeline

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Content Redevelopment

• Focus on End User Client Ease
• Writing for the web
• 50 less than the paper equivalent
• Scanning skimming the page
• broke up large chunks of text avoided jargon
• Summaries, tables, bullet points, headings and
  links
• More consistent, and the information is cleaner
  and clearer

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Content Redevelopment

• Webtrends focus to monitor traffic
• Ireland 34, Overseas 66
• Press section, Business sectors, Company search

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Content Redevelopment

• Utilise pages better
• Right hand side of screen
• Header footer
• Top banner
• New relevant sections

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Previous Site Layout
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Companies Database

• Companies database
• Popular section of IDA site
• Ideal solution one list!
• Assistance of IT Department
• Data requirements agreed before
• Export data fully tested
• Automatic live feed updated nightly

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Overseas Sites

• Multi-lingual Site Solution
• Update in real time
• Customise sitemanager and manuals
• Consistent Design

German
Japanese
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Accessibility

• Aim to be WAI Priority 2 compliant
• Training of IDA people
• CMS Review Recommendations
• 3 companies working closely together (NB)

Web Developers
Accessibility Consultants
Marketing
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Benefits

• Content more legible easier to find
• Consistent design
• Updating process less technical time consuming
• Up-to-date companies database and foreign
  language sites
• Add more languages as necessary Chinese added
  in 2006
• Accessibility standards

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 New Developments and Plans

• Business and Technology Parks Section
• April 2006

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Plans

• Email Newsletter
• RSS Feeds on Press Releases
• Accessibility Maintenance
• Formal Audit
• Further Training
• Best methods of Maintaining Standards
• Content continually being updated and modified

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Timeline Overview
Assessment
2004 CMS
Discovery
Functional Specification
Implementation
2005
German Japanese
2006
Business Parks
Chinese
Email and RSS
Maintenance
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CONCLUSION

• Website Development - Look at the big picture and
  plan accordingly
• Know your audience
• Know your Competition very important in our
  case
• Make the most of the Content that you have ie.
  right side navigation, frequently accessed
  content in header and footer, formatting -
  bullets etc.