Benefits to working with APA's web team

Last Updated: Set. 6, 2019

As professional homes for APA's members, divisions provide an invaluable benefit both to APA as an organization and to the field of psychology. As one way to support the work of divisions, APA's web hosting services and the expertise of APA's digital communications divisions web content specialists are an exceptional asset to the divisions as they share their missions, visions, research and initiatives with the world.

APA dedicates two divisions web content specialists, as part of its larger digital communications office, to collaborate with the divisions on their APA-hosted website content. By partnering with the divisions and working closely with the division web liaison, APA's divisions web content specialists provide advice and guidance about website content, though the division is solely responsible for the content on its APA-hosted site.

To elevate the division's website content, APA's divisions web content specialists have expertise in:

• Writing, editing, layout and design for the web — ensuring engaging written and multimedia content that is displayed attractively, proofread and lightly copyedited for grammar, AP style and APA web style guidelines for content that is consistent, clear and readable.
• Search engine optimization — making sure that Google and other search engines display your division webpages as accurate and relevant sources of information.
• User experience — ensuring that visitors to your division website can move easily and logically through the site.
• Accessibility — APA aims to update all of its sites, including the division websites, so that they can accommodate the needs of people with disabilities.

Working together, APA's divisions web content specialists and the division can aspire to making the division website the best that it can be and presenting the division and its work in the best, most professional and positive light. Engaging web content shares compelling stories about the division that elevate the work of division members and demonstrate the value of the division both within APA, to the general publish and to psychology. Strong web content also provides a professional and appealing online face for the division that encourages new members to join, current members to renew and both new and longtime members to become more active in the division. (For an introduction to crafting attention-getting web content, please review our advice for division web liaisons.)

If you would like to set up a video or phone meeting to discuss your APA-supported division website with a divisions web content specialist, please contact them via email and they will be happy to share their knowledge and learn more about your division's ideas and feedback about your website.

APA's divisions web content specialists also share best web practices with divisions web liaisons through monthly email communications with resources for generating interesting and useful content, so keep an eye on your inbox for messages from them.

As part of their duties to ensure accuracy on the division websites, if during the editing process the divisions web content specialists identify content that may be factually incorrect or potentially problematic for the APA brand, they may flag said content for review by other APA staff and will inform the division. However, the division is ultimately responsible for all content on its APA-hosted website. The divisions web content specialists, given their background and experience in best web practices, will also have final say in the presentation and organization of content on the division website, with every effort being made to meet or exceed the standards set by those best practices.

Because APA provides two dedicated staff members to work specifically on division websites as well as shares resources, such as staff and tools like Google Analytics, from APA with the divisions' APA-supported websites, the divisions are able to benefit from having access to knowledgeable and skilled professionals with experience in website content and editing, production, graphic design, user experience, search engine optimization and information architecture, among other expertise. (However, because these resources are shared with APA, they may, at rare times, have limited availability due to non-division projects.)