New website management system at NU
There’s a new content management system in town for NU’s website, which should help to improve functionality and create a more efficient, convenient and user-friendly experience while maintaining the current aesthetic design.
Web developers in the university’s marketing department have been working with external firm OPIN since late 2017 to develop a new website, moving from the current Sharepoint system, to the more accessible Drupal content-management system.
With more and more users accessing the website via mobile devices, one of the key considerations in this update was mobile functionality. The new system is built on a framework that allows for a fully functional mobile website, a feature not available in Sharepoint.
“We’ve seen a 60 percent increase in mobile-based traffic to our website since 2015, so it is crucial that we provide a streamlined, high-quality mobile experience,” said Kelly Brown, Manager of Marketing and Communications. “This change will allow us to better reach our stakeholders anywhere and anytime, without compromising functionality.”
The Drupal system also provides significant benefit to website editors. It includes improvements in structuring, formatting and managing content. All website editors will be able to embed images and videos, and add elements like accordions, tabs and buttons to create interactive pages. Integration with existing online services, including WebAdvisor and Blackboard, will also be improved.
The website is hosted off-site with 24/7 monitoring and service management, to ensure optimal accessibility.
The new site is also more adaptable, a key feature in the ever-shifting landscape of web marketing. Designed with accessibility in mind, the new website can be easily modified as standards change.
A soft launch of the new website is expected in August, with the full launch in September. Migration of content from the existing website to the newly developed Drupal site took place in June and July and OPIN is currently working with NU’s web developers to test the site and fix any bugs.
Training for faculty and staff who edit their sites will begin in September.
“It’s been a long and collaborative process and we appreciate everyone’s patience,” said Brown. It was necessary to halt most work on the old site over the summer and focus our resources on building the new site. Now that we are nearing completion, we are looking forward to turning our attention to those departments and websites that weren’t updated prior to the site migration process.”