Center for Working-Class Studies launches new Web site

In September, I began working with the Center for Working-Class Studies at YSU (CWCS) to develop a new strategy for their Web site. Some of the challenges of the existing site were that it presented the text in a small area, generated content on-demand and in a fashion impossible for search engines to index, and treated most of the site’s files as attachments rather than pages. Today, CWCS is launching its new Web site that addresses these concerns and adds a whole new dimension to the CWCS Web presence.

Another challenge was the volume of content that needed to be migrated over to a new site, including a number of featured exhibits that were presented in their own design/layout and without reference to or awareness of a larger site. This means that when users happen upon the content through search (which is what you want), they have no link to the parent site and all the other content available on the site. If they wanted to know more about the organization presenting the content, the users had no way of accessing that information.

The new site runs on the open-source content management system (CMS) Drupal. This allows CWCS to add an unlimited number of pages to their site, all of them presented automatically within the site’s design. A WYSIWYG editor is integrated into the page editor, and a menu editor allows full control over the site navigation. Because of the way pages are published, each is accessible via a search-engine-friendly URL, such as http://cwcs.ysu.edu/resources/literature/langston-hughes, which not only tells you exactly what you’ll find at the page but also gives you an instantly visible hierarchy into the structure of the site. You can easily climb up the site’s structure to find related resources, i.e. http://cwcs.ysu.edu/resources/literature and http://cwcs.ysu.edu/resources.

Steven Andrew (watch your volume, if you’re at work and click the link) contributed a fantastic design that emphasizes the varied identities of the modern working class. In accordance with the wishes of the CWCS, it retained the signature background and diamond logo, but both were polished for an updated appearance. Steve Cagan’s worker portraits give the site a personal feel.

Though the technology behind the site maximized the potential for search engine optimization (SEO), any site is only as good as its content. The CWCS site has great content! Some of the key exhibits of original content include Steeltown Digital Library, Journalism Journeys, Worker Portraits, and Working-Class Literature. One of my favorite sections is Working-Class Culture in Youngstown, which contains personal reflections and stories from generations of Youngstown’s working-class families.

Whether it’s the CWCS resources or its outreach that impresses you, there’s lots to embrace about the CWCS and its new Web site. I hope you’ll spend some time getting to know it. Be sure to check out the upcoming events, including the February 10 panel on reporting on the working class and Youngstown.

I can help you move your organization’s Web strategy forward, too! Contact me at info at tylersclark.com

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