Web Content Management Implementation
Arthur Stephens
Western Carolina University Police Department
[email protected]
Western Carolina University
Cullowhee
28723
Recent data shows that the University Web site is now ranked above the traditional View Book and brochures as the most important source for obtaining information about the
institution. An institutions web site has also become a primary way for it to communicate with its students, faculty, staff and other constituencies. Unfortunately, Western Carolina Universitys Web site is fragmented and lacks a coherent focus. This is due to the way the Web site has matured. Each office holds individual responsibility for
its Web pages and there have been few integration efforts for maintaining the site.
In order for Western to market and communicate effectively with constituents via the Web, Western seeks to create a Web presence that better serves the needs of the institutions various audiences. Western is seeking implementation services for a web content management system and related policies and procedures. This implementation will include a redesign of the Universitys web site. The University is seeking an updated, consistent look and feel for the homepage as well as for the second, third, and fourth level pages; an intuitive navigation architecture/site structure to better serve the institutions audiences; and a better definition of the role and purpose of Westerns general Web site in relation to the faculty, staff, and student MyCat Web portal, and existing and future business-critical applications. This engagement should result in the development of a new site structure, the development of common templates for Web pages, a process for keeping the Web content current, and the development of necessary
policies to ensure ongoing consistency and maintenance.
A major component of this project is assistance with identification, implementation and the initial processes of migrating content into a content management system. The content maintenance process replaces many content providers manual, discrete processes, and should provide an infrastructure tool making content management and maintenance a simple task using centrally managed templates while providing oversight capabilities. An organizational structure best suited to the chosen system along with a staffing plan will also be expected.
