Information Technology Services

Web Redesign: What it Means for Official Web Sites at the College

From the desk of Steve Lewis, Web manager / information security coordinator:

You may have noticed recently that the College's Web site has changed. We updated the Hartwell "SUNY Brockport" image to reflect the College's new wordmark and shield, and the photo of Hartwell is now from a different perspective.

This was a simple change. We are presently pursuing more substantial Web redesign to change the look of the College's Web site, and to begin the process of better aligning the content of the College's Web pages to the brand tools recently developed for the College.

We have received several questions about this design upgrade, and what it means for them. Here are some common questions and their answers.

What is ITS's role in the redesign, and what will my department/office need to do, and when?

In terms of the "look and feel" of the pages, those pages which properly incorporate the College's Web templates today will be updated automatically by the start of the fall semester. This change will happen automatically, and is one of the main reasons we have templates in the first place. The rising tide raises all ships.

ITS will be in communication with persons identified as responsible for Web content this summer as these templates are developed and tested on our site. Those persons will be able to preview their pages in a special Web site prior to the public launch of the new templates. Testing is strongly encouraged to make sure we minimize or prevent any glitches when the new site goes live.

If the regular Web contact for your area will not be available by e-mail this summer, then please contact Steve Lewis, Web manager, and indicate who should receive these communications.

If some of your pages do not use the College's templates today, contact ITS Web services for assistance. We are happy to bring you on board today, so your ship can rise with the rest.

What should I do about "SUNY Brockport" that I see all over my Web pages?

In terms of the written content of your Web pages, departments and offices will continue to be responsible for keeping that content up to date – either through direct access to the site through Dreamweaver, or through student support in ITS Web Services.

ITS and the Office of Marketing Communications encourage departments and offices today, when updating their pages, to change references in the text of their Web pages from "SUNY Brockport" to "The College at Brockport" at least for the first mention of the College in a Web page. Subsequent references can be either "the College" (with a capital-C) or just "Brockport" (assuming the content would not be confused with the Village). We do not encourage a global search and replace of all the text in your site, since some rewording would be encouraged.

(E.g., rather than say "The College at Brockport's Office of Information Technology Services", we prefer "Information Technology Services at The College at Brockport".)

In addition, any references to the public state-wide system should not be abbreviated "SUNY", but should be spelled out "State University of New York."

When reviewing page content, don't forget to check the page title.

Further language guidelines will be pending as institutional brand development continues.

What about photography and other images on our Web pages? Can I still use the oval Hartwell seal?

In terms of graphic content, individual Web page content should not include official College logos, past or present. The word mark (old or new), Hartwell seal and new shield should come from the templates only. So individual departments and offices should use the College templates for these marks, and not add them to their pages in other ways.

So any other places where marks appear can and probably should be removed.

We certainly encourage the use of photography. We encourage you to pursue new photography if your photos tend to include long-gone students and faculty. Consider making an appointment with Jim Dusen, manager of photographic services. In addition, guidelines will be developed to describe the type of images that best reflect the institutional brand.

Where can I get the new shield logo for my next newsletter?

Office of Design and Production is responsible for managing the use of the new marks, and is in the process of developing guidelines for their use. Inquiries and requests can be made to Richard Black, director of that office.

Is there anything else I can do to help?

Absolutely! Brand Council and the Office of Marketing Communications are in the process of collecting individual stories that form part of our collective story at The College at Brockport:

• We encourage faculty to tell us about their research and service.
• We want to know more about our alumni, and how the College and its members contributed to their success stories.
• We want to tell the stories of our students, why they chose the College, how we exceeded their expectations and how they've embraced and already been transformed by their Brockport experience and are eager to embrace their futures after graduation.
• And we want stories that are so unique we couldn't hope to place them into any category.

These stories are a part of who we are as a community, and we want to collect them so we can share them – on your Web pages, inside admissions, and as many other places (online and otherwise) as we can. The more, the better. Please submit your story ideas to Darby Knox, interim executive director of public relations.

 

Posted February 29, 2008