A New Home on the Web

The new website will reduce costs, mitigate risks of security breach and meet federal standards on web accessibility.

ALBANY, N.Y. (October 20, 2017) —UAlbany’s website is about to undergo a major transformation – its first total reconstruction in nearly 10 years – that will completely modernize the University’s online presence.

The new website is being built from the ground up using open-source technology, will feature an entirely updated site architecture and graphic design treatment, and will greatly improve the site in its function, usability and maintenance capabilities.

The project is a joint effort between the Office of Communications and Marketing and Information Technology Services (ITS).

Vice President of Communications and Marketing Joseph Brennan said he and his team are excited about the new albany.edu — not only because it is a much-needed overhaul but because it will have a big impact how people engage with the University.

“The new website will not only be more visually appealing,” Brennan said, “but will also improve the effectiveness of our communications and the overall experience for students, faculty, staff and others who visit our site every day.”

Simeon Ananou, vice president and chief information officer of ITS, said a lot has been going on behind the scenes over the last year and a half.

“From selecting a new technology platform to developing new information pathways to training staff across the University, the team is working to ensure that this web redevelopment project is a successful one,” said Ananou. He also noted that the new site will help reduce costs and mitigate risks from things like security breaches and violations of federal rules on web accessibility.

A Launch in Three Phases

A project of this scope — which involves the migration of nearly 30,000 pages — takes time to complete. It is therefore imperative, according to Brennan and Ananou, that all University offices, departments and other units do not delay any necessary or critical updates to their webpages while the process is underway.

“We appreciate that everyone is eager to be a part of the new system,” Brennan said, “but we need these updates to be done in the current publishing environment in order to ensure that page visitors are receiving accurate and timely information, and that the page migration itself is as seamless as possible.”

The new website will launch in three phases, with the most heavily trafficked pages scheduled to go live first. Phase 1 will launch in December 2017 and prioritize the homepage, top-level school, college and Admissions-related pages. Phase 2 will launch in Summer 2018 and include all academic pages not covered in the first phase. The remaining pages — mostly administrative in nature — will go live in Phase 3, scheduled for late Fall 2018.

For more information on the website redevelopment project, please visit albany.edu/redesign.

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