While it is tempting to just start building your website, you will benefit greatly by understanding your content, purpose and audience. Take some time to outline who you are and what you need to say. This will save you some time in the future. Also if your College or division has a communications role, reach out to them about your plans.
Content Review, Architecture & Planning
We highly recommend that you review the content on your current site or brochures. This often helps to identify outdated content, gaps in information, and helps to give a perspective of what you are currently sharing with the world about your organization.
Instead of designing a website around your organizational chart or including all the same information you provide in print materials, it’s more effective to build a navigation with your audience in mind. What will they come to your site looking for? How can you organize your content so that it’s easy for them to find?
As you are planning your site, it’s important to consider the following questions about maintenance:
- Who will be responsible for updating the content of your site?
- How frequent are the updates expected to be?
- Who will be responsible for administrative duties on your site?
Choosing a Publishing Tool
WordPress
UD offers WordPress hosting through CampusPress. Faculty, staff, and students can sign up for an account at https://sites.udel.edu and request a site through the Website Creation Request. Learn more with the article Creating a WordPress Account.
Google Sites
Google Sites is another means of hosting websites. Bear in mind that your Google Site will use your Google storage space.
Registered Student Organizations (RSOs)
RSOs no longer create independent sites. Instead, RSO board members are encouraged to use StUDent Central for RSO communications.
Unique Servers
Some colleges and departments have their own servers on which you may be able to create a site (example: engr.udel.edu). If this is the case, contact your College’s communications office or IT Professional to set up a site.
Other Options
If you need something beyond our basic options, please contact askit@udel.edu and we will work with you to find a solution.
Third Party Add-Ons or Plugins
The Technology Request process is required for ANY and ALL technology (hardware, software (including renewals), tech services, add-ons) you plan to use or are currently using at the University of Delaware as faculty, employee, or affiliate, including add-ons, trial periods, and free solutions. Any outside code that is embedded on websites which process through a third party, or any plugins that are created by a third party, would need to be reviewed through this process. Follow this link to submit a Technology Request.
Design and Layout
If you are working on a site that needs UD branding, you must reach out to the Office of Communications and Marketing (OCM) or your College’s/division’s communications person.
WordPress
If you are using WordPress through sites.udel.edu, you will be able to choose Themes that can customize the look of your site. For more information on themes, you can visit CampusPress’s Knowledgebase. If you are interested in using the Divi theme, Elegant Themes has provided extensive documentation.
Accessibility
Web accessibility includes properly using headings, adding alt text to images, and more. Visit the University's Website Accessibility Guidelines for more information.
Site Statistics and Reporting
Google Analytics is a free tool that is recommended for giving you insight into your site traffic and content. Monitoring your site statistics will help you as the site administrator make informed decisions about what content may be missing. If you’re using WordPress through sites.udel.edu, you can link your Google Analytics account via Statistics + GTM in the WordPress dashboard. Sign up for a free Google Analytics account with Google. Google recently launched Google Analytics 4; for more information on how to set up analytics, visit their help site.
Training
UDIT offers training on the basics of WordPress. If you are in need of training, email askit@udel.edu.