Editing the Web: How Global Universities Can Make Online Editorial Processes More Effective

Working with Limited Budgets and Staff Time to Create Compelling Websites for International Audiences

The website is arguably the most important tool in any university’s international marketing and recruitment efforts. Regardless of whatever other activities they undertake, it is difficult to imagine an international student not visiting the university website and the site of the program they are considering. “International” websites – defined primarily as English-language sites for much of Europe – have been growing faster than the capacity at most institutions to publish this kind of high quality marketing content in another language. Going far beyond translation, a robust editorial process needs to be developed which can allow institutions and individual academic and administrative units to 1) decide what content should be created/translated for international audiences 2) create compelling content 3) ensure high quality. By defining clear roles and processes, clarity is brought into a system that often has multiple stakeholders and no clear “leader”. This paper is intended to provide practical tips on how content for international university websites can be created and maintained more effectively through the development of robust editorial processes.