CMS – What is it?
The Content Management System (CMS) is a Web based tool used to maintain content without having to learn advanced Web editing skills. Many institutions, both in higher education and in the private sector, are using content management systems. The Web Office purchased Cascade Server developed by Hannon Hill last year and has already imported a significant portion of the Union College site. Most administrative offices have already been trained and are maintaining their own content.
What will I get from the CMS?
The CMS makes it easier to update your Web site. In addition, the CMS enables you to work collaboratively with other trained users. With the Web team providing support, you can be assured of a more timely resolution to your specific issues, rather than having to rely on third-party support (i.e. trainers from other organizations or a "how-to" book off the shelf) . Planned future initiatives such as faculty profiles and an online catalog are dependent on a complete implementation of the CMS.
How does the College benefit?
Union’s Web site is the primary resource for information for a variety of audiences (students, faculty, staff, parents, prospectives, alumni, etc.) Our visitors perceive it as a single Web site, even though to us it is a diverse collection of content from a variety of sources and sites. The CMS will help tie our content together and present a better experience to our visitors.
Is it easier than FrontPage/Dreamweaver?
Yes. A content management system provides an interface (the “WYSIWYG”) that is significantly simpler – more akin to a document editor such as MS Word. The CMS is also accessible from any PC/Mac via a web browser rather than needing to use the machine Frontpage/Dreamweaver was installed on. Support is just a phone call away if you need it. It is also important to note that FrontPage has been discontinued and will no longer be supported - any Frontpage users will be faced with learning a new tool.
Who will help me?
The Web team is available to answer any questions, concerns, and entertain your ideas. We can also support users in ways Frontpage wouldn't allow since all content is accessible through a web browser rather than stored locally on your machine. There is an online user guide featuring step-by-step instructions and supplemented with screenshots. An additional advantage to having so many people using the same tool means there is a community of support on campus and even within your own building.
Who is the Web team?
Why does this need to happen? – I like the old way.
The College’s web site continues to rise in importance as our various audiences look to the Web as a resource that is readily available. It's important that visitors are obtaining current and accurate information when they do visit. The CMS is a great solution because it enables those making the content decisions to also take immediate action to get information out there on their site. It's even possible to login from home at 2am to make an update since everything is done via the web. We’re confident that once you get used to the new method, you’ll see time savings in the update process.
Another reason prompting this change is the current web server that hosts www.union.edu is at the end of its life cycle. Necessary upgrades have not been possible for some time which has stunted the development efforts of web initiatives. Moving to the new server is a short term goal and will offer increased security and additional flexibility when developing new tools for CMS users and our site visitors.
What if our department is interested in a look that is different than the College site?
We recognize the balance between having a consistent “Union” look and feel and allowing departments to have their own design. The main College design was recently updated to display content that the old site could not support. The biggest advantage to the new design is a wider template allowing more space for content and navigation. In the future, the college will undergo a professional redesign involving input from members of the campus community. This will result in a new template for the College site along with several alternative designs from which academic departments will be able to choose.
How do I get started - what is the process?
- The Web team will get your existing site imported and moved into the new template.
- We will contact you to setup training with the person(s) currently responsible for site maintenance in a one-on-one session.
- We contact ITS to identify any non-dept content to be moved to minerva.union.edu
- There will be a follow-up session to refresh material covered in the initial training as well as an overview of advanced functions as interest is expressed.