Campus Connection

The future for uwlax.edu includes new technology and a new design!

In the world of the web, change is the only constant. This change is not about "throwing out the baby with the bath water," nor should there ever be "change for the sake of change". However, staying relevant online and thinking forward is how we will best serve our students and our community. It is the university's great fortune to have an already strong web presence, built by a large network of capable and innovative web contributors! iComm's work is centered around building on this solid foundation and the things we know are working well, while targeting opportunities to improve the experiences of our visitors and our content contributors. iComm has been working toward evolving the site to "a coherent, campus-wide approach to Web management." With the help and input of countless colleagues, iComm has developed a new site design and structure to improve the site experience, and has begun moving UW-L's site content into a new software system called a content management system. It is an arduous but exciting project - here's more about it:

What is a CMS?

The core function of content management systems is to present information on web pages - really, it's just a kind of website. But there are a number of things that make a CMS special:

• Its ability to allow publishing and editing content from a web browser interface. What this means: Rather than using installed software such as Sharepoint Designer or Dreamweaver, our editors will now be able to contribute content regardless of their operating system and without any purchase or installation of software. Benefits: The interface is significantly easier to use. And having all content contributors using the same system will streamline training and support.
• Its ability to reuse content throughout a site. What this means: Imagine the number of times a common course, like Phych 101, is referred to throughout our site. Rather than recreate information about the course in dozens of individual web pages, we can use the same source of information about the course where ever it's needed. This applies to a wide variety of information. Benefits: This reduces the amount of content in the site, by reducing redundant information. Also, content can be updated in one location and be correct site-wide.
• Its ability to create workflows, notifications and other reporting. What this means: Broken links and other errors can easily be monitored. Content can have a review date set and editors can receive notification to do so. Benefit: Our site visitors will experience a site with current, correct and easy to navigate information.
• Content management systems make universal navigation possible. What this means: uwlax.edu will have a universal header and universal footer (meaning they will exist site-wide). Benefit: Getting around uwlax.edu will be easier and more intuitive!
• There are countless other features and benefits to working with a CMS. If you're interested in learning more about the CMS we'll be working with, please check out Ektron CMS.

Basic timeline (phases)

Based on the structure and size of our current website, this change will happen over time.  The new site will launch in January of 2013 — the homepage, a majority of pages that are "one click in," and the highest traffic subsites will be migrated into the system for this launch. On an ongoing basis, subsites will continue to be migrated into the new system. All sites that have not moved into the CMS will remain on the current web server and will continue to function as they do now, until the point at which they migrate. The order of migration is determined based on an equation using three data points - traffic, breadth of audience and interest in migrating. (Highest traffic areas with the broadest audiences being set to migrate first.) iComm will initiate these migration projects with our campus clients. _______________________ iComm will be joining meetings with the shared governance groups and holding open forums in November to explain in more detail and answer questions. _______________________

In the next posting

In two weeks, iComm will share tips, tricks, and some best practices for web content, including suggestions if you're interested in preparing your site prior to migration. Previously, iComm shared information about how the team is serving campus using a client list.