Last year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) information technology group embarked on an ambitious and challenging mission: to transform the district's relatively static web site into an interactive, news-driven marketing and information tool. The goal was to give stakeholders a compelling reason to keep coming back to the site on a regular basis for more information, while at the same time enabling the district to get its message out to stakeholders more effectively.

Partnering with their colleagues in the district's public information office and other departments, team members developed a fresh, vibrant site that's a snap to navigate and is loaded with data, news, photos, and features sure to delight parents, employees, realtors, business leaders, reporters, and other site visitors. By all accounts, the district has succeeded in meeting its goals, as the site is drawing rave reviews from parents and educators alike.

Here's what the team, led by project manager Libby Gray, has to say about its nationally recognized work:

Why did you decide it was time to redesign your web site?

CMS adopted new image standards, including a new logo, colors, theme, graphic standards, etc., that were to be used in all communications. The old web site was outdated and needed to reflect the new image that CMS had adopted. The focus of the site needed to change to reflect a new approach to communicating with the community and world—we wanted to move from a static web site to a news-driven site that could be updated instantaneously. We wanted a web site that had a consistent look and feel throughout.

How did you get the buy-in and support from your superintendent and central administration?

We involved the superintendent, senior staff, and public information officers in the beginning stages of the development. We asked them what they wanted in a web site: what did they want to communicate to the community and the world? We kept them involved during the entire process of the redevelopment. Our senior staff recognized the value of our internet site and realized that it could serve as the central location for hosting real-time, accurate information about the school system.

Whom did you involve in the development process and why?

We involved the associate superintendent, assistant superintendent of public information, department directors, and others who would be major content providers. Each person whom we contacted contributed valuable information in his or her area of expertise. Because the information on the site represents the entire school system, we felt it was important that we involve as many folks as possible, so all areas would be covered.

Did you use any research to help you redesign your site?

For several months prior to launching the redesign process, we used a web statistical analysis tool called WebTrends on our old web site to track what areas were being used most by the public. Our team also read many books and internet articles regarding home page usability studies and visited other web sites from education and business to get ideas. We also sought and used input from the CMS departments that tended to use the site the most.