Western Carolina University's new website is scheduled to launch Tuesday, October 31. Work on the website redesign project began in January 2006 when the university hired Chicago-based consultants mStoner to work with the Office of Web Services and campus community on a new WCU site.
The website will feature a new look and feel, improved usability, and a greater focus on prospective students. The redesign also includes the implementation of a content management system (CMS), which will make the university's site easier to manage and maintain.
The university's top tier pages will be rolled out at the Oct. 31 launch. These include the main page and the About, Admissions, Academics, Student Life, Giving, Alumni, and News and Events sections. In addition, the redesign will include the Colleges of Education and Allied Professions and Arts and Sciences and the English department, which will serve as models for other colleges and departments while allowing for customization with photos, text, links and other features.
"We're excited about unveiling the new website,” said Newton Smith, director of Web Services. “It's going to be a little like remodeling a few rooms while you're still living in the rest of the house since the top tier pages represent a fraction of the total pages on the university site that will still need to be redesigned and re-edited.”
“Once the new site is launched, we anticipate that demand for department and administrative units' site redesign will be high,” said Smith. To manage the demand, Web Services is establishing priorities for site redesign with the Web Advisory Council in consultation with Provost Carter. Academic programs and areas affecting admissions and recruitment will take precedence.
From now until Oct. 31 the Office of Web Services will be immersed in moving content and images for the new site into the content management system. Following the launch, representatives from mStoner will visit campus in November to train key web managers across campus who will, in turn, train others.
For further information on WCU's Web redesign and content management system implementation project, visit http://www.wcu.edu/it/webredesign/index.html or contact Newt Smith, director of Web Services, at 227-2411 or smithn@email.wcu.edu . | 