About Web Development
The College of Charleston web development project — a collaboration of Information Technology and Marketing and Communications with support from the President’s Office — is a comprehensive, campus-wide initiative that will improve the design, functionality, navigation and content of the entire College of Charleston website. The process, when completed, will result in a completely overhauled and upgraded website that will provide our constituents, on-campus and off-campus, with a better, more complete, and more efficient user experience.
The goals of this project are to create an online representation that accurately portrays the character, quality and heritage of the College of Charleston, makes critical information easy to access and use, and provides a common platform for future web development. It involves implementing Cascade Server, a content management system which provides a common interface for users to edit and publish their web content. Cascade Server can accommodate both novice and advanced web content managers while ensuring compliance with web standards as well as the College’s visual identity standards. In addition, the College will work with mStoner, a national web design and development firm, to redesign the architecture, navigation, and visual identity of the College's web pages.
Why Redevelop the Website?
The website is the place where people learn the most about a university. It is the most-used source of information by prospective students and their parents, potential employees, alumni, donors and members of the public. Our current website is not reflective of the high-quality institution that the College of Charleston has become. The jumbled information, inconsistent visual presentation and sub-standard quality and functionality create the perception that the College is not up to the standards of our peers. The poor quality challenges us in everything we do: student/faculty recruitment and retention; fund-raising; alumni participation; public perception; and faculty/student satisfaction.
This process will enhance the website experience for all of our constituents. It will:
- Help achieve our desired outcome of being a nationally recognized and respected institution.
- Better showcase the exceptional faculty, programs and attributes of the College.
- Allow us to more prominently feature information about our academic programs and learning opportunities.
- Convey that the College of Charleston is place where learning is rigorous, involving and exciting.
- Create better interactive experiences for prospective students, parents, alumni, etc.
- Expand perceptions of the College as an institution of exceptional quality.
- Organize homepage and supporting pages to provide better access to institutional content.
- Provide an opportunity to better deliver expected user technology such as Blogs, Podcasts, Video, etc.
- Give us the ability to translate web into usable data for mobile devices (Blackberry, Phones, etc.)
- Portray an exceptional institution that guides students to successful academic and personal outcomes.
Deliverables
Deliverables from this project include:
- Implementation of Cascade Server, a campus-wide content management system.
- Established standards and templates for content, visual identity, and design.
- Sitewide compliance with ADA accessibility standards.
- Common resources for web content providers and managers.
- Formal, ongoing training and support for those providing web content.
- Integration of web responsibilities into job descriptions and accountabilities.
- A strong, distinctive visual online identity that reflects the academic quality and tradition of the College.
