UMW Community Update: Status of Web Site

Now that the fall semester is coming to a close, I wanted to keep everyone informed regarding some issues we’ve encountered since the launch of the new site, as well as planned changes and enhancements:

1. Broken Links on Web Sites: After an initial push to fix broken links on critical sites, as well as working with some departments directly to get this done, we are still getting isolated reports about broken links. Please know that other than the absolute upper-levels of the Web site, these fixes need to be made by individual department web administrators. To that end, we are in the process of running a script/report of all broken links to distribute to web administrators. If you find a broken link, please report it to the department, or to the webmaster, and we will work with that department to get a fix for it. Remember when you are reporting a broken link, PLEASE GIVE THE URL OF THE PAGE WHERE YOU SAW THE LINK. We can’t fix it if we don’t know where it is!
   
2. Broken Links in Search: These have gradually diminished as Google has had time to crawl the site, but they still crop up. Unfortunately, UMW has little control over this phenomenon beyond the substantial steps already taken to inform Google’s crawler of the changes. If you see broken links on a search, please contact the webmaster so we can identify whether it is a result of an outdated crawl or a broken link on a live website.
3. Old Web Server: The old web server, located at sites.umw.edu, will be taken down in January. Owners of sites that are still on the server have been  notified of their need to move to the new system before the servers are taken down. Please contact the webmaster if you need assistance with this. For academic departments, DTLT is also, quite generously, available to help.
4. Mobile: We have enabled the mobile interface for smartphones — not tablets, which get the regular desktop theme. At present, the smartphone theme is bare-bones and text-based but quite usable. The mobile presence will continue to evolve and we are working with the University-wide Web Advisory Committee to identify viable top-level content for that site. Department mobile sites will need special treatment, and we are identifying where custom templates are required. Meanwhile, department site primary navigation will show when you click on the top menu link in any UMW site. The mobile interface is ongoing in terms of design refinements and we will approach this iteratively based on analytics, competitor trends, and committee input.
5. Online Maps and Tours: We are on the verge of launching the first phase of a new online campus map and tour based on Google maps. In the spring semester, we will be adding social media capability to the tour, including a Twitter map, events calendars, capacity for uploads of location-based photos and videos. We will announce the initial phase of the tour upon completion.