Since January, we have been working hard to add newly written content and migrate thousands of existing Web pages into the new content management system (CMS). In addition, the Web staff have been learning the new Ingeniux CMS, further customizing the software, and working through the many bugs that arise when rolling out new technology.

New Site Launch Date
Since the end of the academic year is quickly drawing near, we want to minimize any potential impact to faculty and current students by switching to a new system at a critical time of year.  We have revised our target site launch date until mid-May following final exams. This will also allow us more time to complete our content migration and work through any remaining technical issues.

Making Updates to Existing Web Site (in the current CMS)
If you need to make important changes to content that is in the current CMS, you are free to do so. Laura Rossi and I continue to make content updates to the current live site as needed. However, if you make any content updates in the current CMS, please remember to use the process we outlined in our January project update regarding tracking those changes .  This is the only way we can be sure that the changes you are making to the current site will be added to the new system. This notice does not apply to Web sites managed outside of the CMS by software like Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage.

Content Review With Departments
Since we are migrating content from dozens of administrative departments to the new site, we simply do not have the time or ability to meet with each department on an individual basis prior to the launch of the new Web site.  We know that many departments are anxious to get our assistance on technical, content, and creative concerns.  As soon as we have the new site live, and training completed for departmental Website managers and editors, we will be happy to assist those departments needing our help. We ask for and appreciate your patience.

Training on New Content Management System
The Web staff will begin conducting group training sessions on how to use the new CMS immediately following the launch.  Training sessions will likely begin in early June and continue on an ongoing basis over the summer and fall.  We will endeavor to provide as many as possible, including some evening and off-hour sessions to accommodate schedules.

Next week, we will provide you with an update on important information about the new site’s architecture and navigation (the ‘what will live where map’ and how those decisions were made). That update will also include information about the publishing process.

Update
We are tentatively scheduled to launch the new site in mid-May following final exams. We are several weeks behind with finalizing site development, content writing, and content migration. You can follow our progress at http://www.anselm.edu/redesign or by clicking the link in the footer of the college’s home page.

Over the break, we pulled thousands of pages of essential information from the current site’s CMS in preparation to move them to the new CMS.

Much work remains, however, as we develop the new site, write content, and prepare for the migration.

For People Who Post Content to the Current Site
Please keep track of any updates you make to a Web site in the current CMS after Jan. 4, 2010. Keep those changes in a Microsoft Word document so we can incorporate them in the new CMS prior to launch. That way, the latest version of your pages will appear with the new site. Additional directions on this process are provided in this blog post.

For Those Who Maintain Non-CMS Sites
This notice does not pertain to sites uploaded via FTP, managed with software like Adobe Dreamweaver, or any other sites outside our current CMS. These pages will be automatically migrated to the new hosting platform the week prior to launching the new site. All faculty and staff will be notified via e-mail as we get closer to the date.

Thank you for your patience and for your assistance as we move through this exciting project. When launched, our new Web site will allow Saint Anselm College to tell its many stories in new and dynamic ways.

If you haven’t yet seen the new site design, I urge you to visit the design category of this blog.

1. Create a folder on the ‘P’ drive under the ‘Web Redesign’ directory (‘P:/Web Redesign’). The folder name should be your department name or site name.
2. Each new page or content change should be posted as separate Microsoft Word documents. If you make a change to a page, it’s easier for us if you simply copy the entire Web page and provide it to us in a Word document that includes the content changes. That way we can simple copy over the entire page to the new CMS. If you feel the need to highlight the exact changes you made on a page, please use either red font or the yellow highlighter formatting to identify the change.
3. At the top of each Microsoft Word document, include the following sections:
   1. CONTACT: Person to contact if we have questions regarding the content changes.
   2. DATE OF CONTENT CHANGE: The date of the change (e.g., Date of Content Change: 1/13/09)
   3. NOTES: A notes section that describes the changes made to the page (please be brief)
   4. PAGE URL: The current URL of the page in the CMS
   5. PAGE LINKS: Include the full URL of all links included within each Web page. You can do this by simply including the link in brackets within your page content after the location of the link (e.g., visit our online calendar [http://www.anselm.edu/calendar] for more information.)
4. Include all new images in a separate folder named “Images’ within your department directory (e.g., ‘P:/Web Redesign/Department Name/Images’). It may be best to provide us with a copy of the original, high resolution image as image sizes will differ in the new CMS.
5. Include all PDFs, Word, or Excel documents within a separate folder called “Attachments” (e.g., ‘P:/Web Redesign/Department Name/Attachments’)

If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact Doug Minor, director of Web publishing, at 656-6184 or dminor@anselm.edu.