University launches new Web content management project

A new Web content management system that will be made available to a group of selected “early adopters” starting this summer will allow more of a focus on content, rather than maintenance, on campus Web sites.

“Implementing software as a campus will allow us to leverage an investment as a campus that would otherwise be made as individual procurements and installations at a much higher cost,” says Ron Kraemer, chief information officer and vice provost for information technology.

An ad hoc campus group of nearly 40 participants have been meeting since early 2007 to develop the project plan. From there, a smaller group came together to determine specifications and evaluate vendors, including RedDot, the company that ultimately was chosen for the work. The Web content management system will facilitate the creation, publishing, sharing, storage and archiving of departmental and institutional information. Software for content management will put text and images in an active database so single and collected content elements can be presented through multiple Web sites. Templates — which can be customized — will be made available to users of the opt-in system, making it easier for departments and units to update and improve their sites.

The system is expected to eliminate the need for site maintenance and updating by information technology staff. “For offices that publish a fair amount of Web content that needs regular updates, this will put the update process directly into their hands,” says Al Friedman, associate director of University Communications and chair of the leadership team that will guide the policy and use of the new system. “They’ll be able to edit and publish changes immediately. There is the potential to improve the accuracy and currency of content, avoid redundancy and eliminate conflicting information.

“Sites can look the same,” Friedman adds. “The content will just be managed differently.”

The most important goal for the new system, says Friedman, is ensuring that reliable information is available to visitors to campus Web sites. “What people see on campus Web sites is perceived as official,” he says. “This will make it easier for everyone.”

Features of the new system include:

— Built-in tools for creating Web pages without requiring specialized Web development skills. It will incorporate a word processor-like user interface, eliminating the need for software installs and allowing easy access to the system.

— The system will monitor broken links, dated content and aid the archiving process. It will keep Web content timely and of high value to site visitors.

— Authors, editors, publishers and administrators will have varying degrees of access to content. Internal security mechanisms will ensure that content cannot be posted, deleted or modified without appropriate permission.

— Page layout and site designs will be based on templates that are automatically applied as new pages are added. The system supports multiple templates to support use and delivery to many users.

— The system will reduce the time and costs by offering a shared system for creating, editing and publishing well-designed Web sites without requiring technical expertise.

There has been interest from departments and units all over campus, including the School of Medicine and Public Health, the School of Education, the School of Business, the School of Nursing, the Office of Enrollment Management, the Office of the Registrar, the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) and University Communications. The new system will be used on the course guide produced by the registrar’s office, on undergraduate and graduate catalogs, and on selected portions of the provost’s Web site, among other projects.

Training and testing on the system with a small group of early adopters will begin in July, with production pilots expected this fall. Additional training will likely be offered to interested departments and units later in the 2008-09 academic year. Funding for the project will be provided initially by the Office of the Chief Information Officer, which will purchase the software and hardware and start the campus service. Ongoing sustaining costs will be shared among campus units. The overall cost is projected to be $1.7 million over five years.

“An implementation group, headed by the support team at DoIT, has devoted a great deal of time, with the support of the chief information officer, to lead the campus volunteers in this effort,” says Friedman. To learn more, contact Friedman at (608) 262-8297 or acfriedm@wisc.edu.