Over the past year we have continued the important work to improve our University’s web presence. This critical work is driven by four core requirements: to move content off the old, unsupported content management system; to comply with the government’s standards for accessible content; to ensure the accuracy and integrity of information; to improve the performance and user experience of the site.
This has not been easy and has caused dissatisfaction and frustration amongst colleagues which has been, and will continue to be, heard. Issues are being addressed and next steps prioritised by the Web Oversight Board (WOB), co-chaired by Wendy Appleby and Prof. Michael Butler.
In July, we began the transition of academic content, which involved 30,000 pages of information being redirected to the new platform. The aim being to better integrate this information into a more user-friendly website, where information will be more searchable and connections across and between relevant research areas, education, enterprise and people will be made possible.
Since July, further progress has been made and more than 140 technical upgrades have taken place across the site in seven phased releases. These have resulted in:
- Accessibility – our new web pages will conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA by spring, as agreed with the Cabinet Office auditors.
- Staff profiles – are now populated by the information in Pure.
- Research – additional features have been added to research webpages including more types of staff profiles and more research projects.
Your patience and engagement while we have worked hard to resolve these complex problems has been very much appreciated.
What’s next?
There is more work to be done and several projects will start in the new year. The most significant of these is:
- Transition of content for Research centres, groups and institutes. The keyword tagging pilots run in each faculty over the last three months have proven the viability of this approach, that links data in Pure with the web pages. The WOB will be looking at the learning from the pilots with a view to commencing implementation of keyword tagging in January; this activity is scheduled to be complete by the end of April.
This will be an intensive set of activities which will inevitably place demands on academic colleagues’ at an already busy time. To provide more support and relieve some of that pressure, we are developing new roles located within the Faculty Operating Service (FOS) to help manage local data and content.
The digital teams will be working closely with designated contacts in the FOS and relevant academic colleagues to deliver content that is intended to be compelling, focused and findable. The keyword tagging is designed to establish interconnections between related research content, outputs and people that will better demonstrate to our stakeholders the breadth, depth and strength of research at our University.
Other important work will continue on:
- Staff finder – implementation of this feature to show the correct association of staff and schools, as soon as the data is available in January/February.
- Subject web pages – will be reviewed and initial improvements made by March.
- School web pages – will be reviewed and improvements made by April.
- Staff profiles – will be expanded to include additional categories of staff (e.g. visitors), as soon as the data is available in January/February.
- Accessibility – continuous work to maintain and ensure our website meets accessibility standards
- Course pages – continuous improvement of functionality.
Issues and requests for change
In the new year, faculties will have dedicated academic representation (nominated by each Dean) on the new ‘Web Insight Forum’. Meeting regularly to support WOB and the delivery teams, the group will be a critical friend discussing plans for new web site developments, and to highlight important website issues being experienced by the faculties.
Colleagues can help keep our website current and accessible. If you have found an inaccuracy in the website content or it simply needs updating, please send details as soon as you can. There is a dedicated process that logs the issue so that you know it is being addressed: Report a problem or request a change.
We will continue to keep you updated on progress with Website updates on SUSSED and through your FOS.
