The Master Gardener website needed to serve two purposes: educate the public about the Master Gardener program, and serve as the primary resource hub for volunteers. Small links in the top right take volunteers to their password-protected website, but the bulk of the homepage is the Master Gardener blog feed, where volunteers can share their stories with the public.

 

This site upgrade involved more than just a visual redesign. Working with the Master Gardener web leader, we clearly defined website audience and goals, audited all content, and reconstructed the information architecture and user experience in accordance with audience survey results.

 

University of Minnesota Extension web content evolved to live on hundreds of websites with different templates and maintenance approaches. In order to bring its entire web presence into a single updated and improved website, Extension needed to develop a well-defined process and sufficient tools to replicate the work.

The web guide documents the complete web upgrade process, tools developed by Extension web staff, tips for their use, and links to supporting research.