For the second year I contracted with the Online News Association on their annual conference site. Working on a conference website presents a challenge because the relevant information changes over the course of several months.
Phase 2 – Conference Schedule
The first phase of the site is simply to announce the location and provide information on registration and hotels. Phase two begins when the schedule is announced – allowing attendees plan their schedule. The ONA schedule presentation is interactive; allowing users to sort sessions by type and topic.
Phase 3 – during the conference
During the conference – phase three – the current session and the next session are the most relevant; so we highlight those on the homepage. Users visiting the site from home can visit our livestream page; attendees can preplan their next session.
Post-conference, it’s the coverage and recaps of the sessions that become useful. We change our presentation to direct users to these resources.
