UWSA Website Redesign – Background Information

Recently, the University of Waterloo implemented a complete redesign of the School of Architecture’s website. In order to have a productive discussion regarding the new website, we must first understand why it happened.

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The University of Waterloo began rebranding efforts in early 2009 in order to create a stronger, more cohesive identity for our university. (http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2009/jul/24fr.html)

A new visual identity was first introduced through banners on campus in July 2009. Plans for a redesign of the entire University’s web presence were announced around the same time.

As stated in 2009 by Meg McDermott, then of Communications & Public Affairs and UW Graphics, “there are two main reasons for the [website] redesign project… to demonstrate the attributes defined in the new UW identity, including the visual expression; [and] to improve the user experience, including enhancements to the navigation as well as improving consistency throughout the UW web space.” (http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2009/sep/21mo.html)

A similar statement was made by Meg Beckel, then UW Vice President (External Relations). “We need to harmonize our message as well as our look and feel… This will take collaboration, integration and co-operation.” (http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2009/nov/30mo.html)

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In order to truly integrate each department’s web presence, the University needed to change the tools that they used to create and maintain their websites. This was no small task, as the web space occupied by the University of Waterloo at that time was “estimated to include more than half a million web pages on at least 300 separate servers.” (http://www.bulletin.uwaterloo.ca/2009/sep/21mo.html)

The University decided to replace their old “tools for website creation and maintenance with a [Waterloo Content Management System, or] WCMS.” (http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/projects/wcmsproject/waterloo-cms-project-charter-20100210.pdf)

A content management system “is a computer program that allows publishing, editing and modifying content as well as maintenance from a central interface. Such systems of content management provide procedures to manage workflow in a collaborative environment.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_management_system)

The University “found that a WCMS will address some of the limitations and deficiencies posed by the current website creation and maintenance tools. Some of the areas where a WCMS could provide benefits include: the separation of presentation and navigation from content; ease of website administration and maintenance – particularly of large websites; responsiveness to changing technology environments and requirements; implementation of enhanced or extended functionality (e.g. forms, photo galleries, feeds, blogs, etc.); and reusability of web content.” (http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/projects/wcmsproject/waterloo-cms-project-charter-20100210.pdf)

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Along with a more cohesive structure, the University also wanted to use this redesign of their websites to meet their “obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)” (https://uwaterloo.ca/web-resources/resources/accessibility). The AODA says that “Designated public sector organizations and large organizations shall make their internet websites and web content conform with the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, initially at Level A by January 2014 and increasing to Level AA by January 2021.”(https://uwaterloo.ca/web-resources/resources/accessibility).

The W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 can be found here: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

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The WCMS provided the structure through which the University of Waterloo’s websites could be integrated. The preexisting visuals as established in 2009’s rebranding provided the foundation for UW’s new unified online identity. A template-based system provided the link between the visuals (ie. the front end) and the structure (ie. the backend), and allowed the University to meet its obligations under the AODA in an efficient manner.

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Please bring your comments, questions, criticisms, or any errors or omissions to the OPEN FORUM this FRIDAY at 6:00 in the Main Lecture Hall.