Mastering GOSS Themes: Setup and Customisation

Creating a successful, user-friendly website can be a complex task, with many factors to consider as part of the website development process. A key part of many Public Sector organisations' digital transformation strategies is to provide their citizens and customers with a user-friendly and accessible website, enabling them to find the information they require within a few clicks.  One way GOSS enable this to happen is through the use of the GOSS website themes, making website creation significantly simpler and more efficient.

In this latest blog series, we sit down with Sarah Youen, the Head of Creative at GOSS, to explore the advantages of thematic website design for organisations and share best practices for mastering GOSS Themes. In this final article, Sarah explores how GOSS Themes can accelerate the website creation process. She discusses best practices, design principles, and common pitfalls to avoid when customising and using GOSS Themes effectively.

How does using a GOSS Theme simplify website creation, regardless of skill level?

One of the standout features of GOSS Themes is that they require no coding knowledge to set up. Everything is managed within the GOSS iCM system, which provides a user-friendly interface for creating and managing websites. The GOSS documentation site offers a wealth of resources to guide clients through the setup process, ensuring that even those with limited technical skills can easily create a functional and attractive website.

However, we understand that for clients who prefer a more hands-on approach, we also offer a comprehensive training package. The training team can teach clients how to set up a GOSS subsite, and the process is remarkably quick. Typically, it takes just five minutes to set up a subsite with a theme. The setup process involves a few straightforward steps, choosing a theme, selecting articles, configuring top and bottom utilities, and adding social media links. This step-by-step approach ensures that the site is up and running swiftly.

Once the site is live, we provide flexible support and can be as involved or uninvolved as the client requires, offering a tailored support experience based on individual needs.

How do GOSS Themes facilitate quick website setup?

With the GOSS Digital Platform, it's super quick to set up a website using a GOSS Theme. The Platform is designed to be intuitive, allowing users to configure their sites with minimal effort. We always deliberately create initial website concepts using one of the GOSS Themes in grey scale, it helps to provide a neutral canvas for clients to add their own colour schemes and branding.

Setting up the header, footer, and homepage can be the most challenging aspects as these elements are theme-specific. However, the content inside the site, such as list templates and default pages, is standardised across all themes. This uniformity means that once a client has set up one subsite, subsequent setups become much easier and faster. The consistent design and setup process across themes ensures that users can effectively replicate the structure and style of their websites.

How can website themes be tailored to meet the specific needs and preferences of different target audiences?

With a GOSS Theme, clients have a lot of design flexibility at their fingertips. Whilst the Themes provide a consistent look and feel, we were also incredibly aware of making them customisable when building them. We know that it's important for our clients' website to feel unique and address each of their specific design requirements. This can be achieved with the following methods:

• CSS classes and metadata: GOSS Themes come with numerous CSS classes and the ability to add more via metadata, allowing for unique styling. For example, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council use the same GOSS Theme for their main website as they do for the Local Offer section of this site, however, this specific section has unique metadata attached to it, giving it a distinct appearance while remaining part of Stockton's main website.
• Custom JavaScript: Clients can create custom JavaScript to add features such as accessibility testers or tracking mechanisms, enhancing functionality and user experience.

What design principles or guidelines should be followed to ensure usability and clarity when customising website themes?

For me, there's three major principles that come to mind, all of which can help enhance website usability and clarity:

• Avoid over-styling: While there are no limitations on the extent of styling, we find over-styling can lead to complications. It's crucial to maintain simplicity and avoid excessive modifications that might break the site.
• Follow accessibility guidelines: Ensure that chosen colours meet accessibility standards. Font choices should adhere to web standard guidelines, we recommended a minimum font size of 16.
• Plan your design: Having a clear design plan based on your branding guidelines helps streamline the customisation process. Whether you have extensive brand guidelines or just a logo, planning is beneficial.

And finally, what are your overall tips and tricks for using GOSS Themes?

Overall, it's really simple to use a GOSS Theme and deliver engaging, accessible, and responsive websites tailored to specific audience needs. GOSS clients can consult these handy hints to take full advantage of their chosen Theme:

• Global CSS issues: Avoid overly global CSS rules. For example, setting a global button class to green will make all buttons green, even where it is not intended, necessitating constant overrides.
• JavaScript conflicts: Custom JavaScript can alter HTML, but updates by GOSS might cause these scripts to fail. Ensure any custom scripts are robust and consider potential future changes.
• Stale content: Don't let your site become static. Regular updates and improvements keep the site engaging and functional. The Dynamic theme, in particular, requires continuous content updates to maintain vibrancy.
• Initial content: Don't hesitate to launch with minimal content. Starting with a single page can help the site gain traction and improve search engine rankings.
• Testing environments: After creating a website in production, request GOSS to copy the database down. This allows you to test changes in a separate environment without affecting the live site.
• Community feedback: Engage with us if something is missing. Themes are not static; they evolve based on client feedback. Community-driven suggestions often lead to new features that benefit all clients.