Updated format coming for Announcements section

The WSU Announcements section will be getting an updated look as part of an overall rebuild of the WSU Insider website scheduled for rollout the week of Sept. 20.

The process for submitting Announcements will remain the same.

The upcoming changes are designed to improve the use and functionality of the section, while enabling full technical integration with the WSU Insider website. Site analytics and other user-behavior data helped guide the planned updates to provide a more responsive user and reader experience.

All existing content, including Announcements submitted using the current system but for publication in the future, will be transitioned to the new website.

More visible Insider homepage navigation

The Announcements section will have its own navigation link at the top of its homepage, and will continue to have a large link button within the WSU Insider’s daily push email.

The masthead of the new WSU Insider website showcasing where Announcements will be in its navigation.

 

A more inclusive and robust landing page

A list of submitted announcements on the new WSU Insider website.The landing page for the Announcements section is being broadened to include a rolling, seven-day view of the latest postings instead of the current, day-by-day view.

This is intended to improve overall visibility of each unique posting by significantly increasing the number of days they remain on the section’s main landing page.

 

Accordion-style displays

Additionally, the new site uses an accordion-style display that enables readers to access the full text of any individual Announcement without having to leave the landing page.

The expanded view of an announcement on the new WSU Insider website.By clicking on the headlines, the full text will appear beneath it. The text can retract by clicking again to facilitate continue scanning.

To make the accordion-style approach usable, we need to establish character limits on Announcements. Headlines will be capped at 110 characters, which is enough to fill two full lines of headline text. Body text will be capped at 1050 characters, which is enough for several paragraphs of text. The text in this Announcement, for example, is 1008 characters.

Questions?

Contact WSU News at wsunews@wsu.edu.