A WCMS is a web-based tool for the collaborative development and maintenance of web sites. It allows many users without technical knowledge to contribute content to a web site, making web site management faster and easier to learn.
A WCMS is important at Northwestern because:
WCMS greatly improves the impact, usability, and overall benefit of web based information by reducing administrative overhead, enabling users to edit / add content more easily, and making changes to web sites easier.
Plese see the Selection Process section of our About the Project page for more information.
University Relations has secured central funding for the project and intends to provide it free of charge to all interested campus groups. A one-time cost may be associated with startup and training, please contact Web Communications to discuss your situation in detail.
Pilot installation will run through the end of this year, and we anticipate general availability to the NU community at large beginning first quarter 2007. Please contact Web Communications to discuss your needs and timeline.
As with any major site overhaul, the amount of work to be done varies with the condition of your current site. In most cases, you can keep your site's appearance and template structure, but you'll need to spend some time getting your content and site organization ready. This should include:
Please see our Developer Resources section for more information.
Migrating into a WCMS can be a good time to reexamine and refresh the content and structure of your website, to take advantage of some of the improved content management and site navigation features, without undertaking a full redesign. Web Communications recommends migrating your site templates into the WCMS as directly as possible, to limit the scope of your project. Once you're familiar with the WCMS system and its features as they apply to your current site's design, you'll be able to make more informed decisions about taking advantage of them in a future redesign.
Web Communications requires that all sites migrated into the WCMS follow Northwestern's existing Web Standards. Beyond that, the WCMS template system is flexible enough to handle almost any site's design, even those with complicated navigation structures and server-side scripting code. Complicated features may require some coding using the WCMS templating language, particularly with navigational elements and reusable asset components.
During the project's pilot phase, Web Communications will finalize how to best handle your training needs, and will announce training plans and materials as they become available.
This web site will be the primary source of updates and information about the project. You can also subscribe to our listserv to receive periodic announcements and news. A separate developers' listserv is also available for technical help and discussion.