UC ANR websites and blogs are part of a larger web ecosystem. Before requesting something new, consider your audience, your content and whether an existing UC ANR site could meet your needs.
In many cases, adding to or improving an existing site can provide better visibility for your content while making it easier to maintain over time.
Before you request a new site or blog
Consider these questions before submitting your request:
- Who is your audience? Who are you trying to reach, and what information or services are they looking for?
- What are you trying to accomplish? Think about the questions you want to answer or actions you want visitors to take.
- Does similar content already exist? Search the UC ANR website and consider whether your content could be added to an existing program, county, statewide or other related site.
- How much content do you have? A small amount of evergreen information may work better as a page or section within an existing site than as a separate website.
- How will people find your content? A new website does not automatically create visibility. Consider how people will reach it through search, existing UC ANR sites, email, social media or other outreach.
- Who will maintain it? Websites and blogs need ongoing attention. Identify who will be responsible for keeping content accurate and up to date.
Site ownership and accessibility
New UC ANR sites must have at least two people responsible for managing and maintaining the site. Site administrators and editors are expected to understand and follow UC ANR's web, brand and digital accessibility standards and best practices.
Accessibility is an ongoing responsibility. Before requesting a site, make sure your team has the capacity to keep its content accessible, accurate and up to date over time.
Do you need a site or a blog?
A site may be appropriate when:
- You have a substantial amount of content or expect it to grow over time.
- Your content serves a distinct audience or a broader regional or statewide audience.
- Your program or project needs an organized collection of pages and resources.
- There is a clear plan for ongoing ownership and maintenance.
A separate site may not be necessary when your content is limited in scope, serves an audience already supported by another UC ANR site, or could be incorporated into an existing program or county site.
A blog may be appropriate when:
- You plan to publish stories, updates, educational articles or other timely content on an ongoing basis.
- You expect to publish regularly rather than create primarily static information.
- The blog will complement an existing program, site or other UC ANR web presence.
Before requesting a blog, we recommend having a plan for ongoing publishing and drafting a few initial posts so visitors have useful content to explore when the blog launches.
Not sure what you need?
That's OK. You don't need to determine the web structure before contacting us. The UC ANR Content Team can help you determine whether your content would work best as a new site, a blog, a section of an existing site or another content type.
How to request a site or blog
Currently, new site and blog requests are handled by email. Email iwp@ucanr.edu and include:
- Proposed site or blog name
- Proposed URL, if you have one in mind
- Purpose and justification for the request
- Primary audience
- Brief description of the content you plan to publish
- Existing UC ANR sites or content related to the request, if applicable
- For a new site, the names of at least two people who will be responsible for managing and maintaining it
- For a blog, the person or team responsible for ongoing publishing and maintenance
We'll review your request and follow up with questions or recommendations about the best approach.