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Nov. 16, 2006 • Volume 15 Number 6
New Web Design Debuts This Sunday
Boston College will launch a new Web design and navigation system this Sunday, Nov. 19, in tandem with the introduction of a Web publishing tool called Collage. The design will make its debut on a selection of highly trafficked Web sites and was developed by the Office of Marketing Communications (OMC).
The changes in design were developed following studies of, among other things, successful sites at US News top-50 universities and of traffic patterns on Boston College's more than 180 departmental sites. "Our goals were to improve aesthetics, accommodate new uses of technology, adopt best practices, and allow users to more easily find the information they're looking for," said Hallie Sammartino, OMC's deputy director and the project's leader.
A site-wide license for Collage was purchased in December 2005 following a review of commercial products by a committee of faculty, administrators, and Information Technology Services (ITS) staff. The authoring program was selected, said ITS Web Support Manager Scott Olivieri "for its ease of use, rich set of features, stability, and sound architecture."
Collage will replace WebIt as the University-supported Web development tool. WebIt will be maintained through the summer of 2007, said Olivieri.
Sunday's launch will take place on Web sites that include the Boston College home page, BCInfo, A-Z, About BC, Undergraduate Admission, the Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Sciences dean's office, Research Administration, the Connell School of Nursing, the Woods College of Advancing Studies, Robsham Theater and the Office of Public Affairs. A site for parents of undergraduate students also will be launched.
A second phase of conversion to the new design is underway, and participants include the University Libraries, the Law School, the Church in the 21st Century Center and the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life. This phase is expected to be completed in early December.
Based on commitments from other academic and administrative units, ITS has developed a list - which can be viewed at webtech.bc.edu - of Web sites that will be converted in December and January. Workshop training in Collage is now being offered through ITS on a bi-monthly schedule, and site managers who wish to arrange for training and to schedule a conversion to the new publishing system and design can do so by email to scott.olivieri.1@bc.edu or by calling ext.2-8460.
The new design is the first full scale change in the Boston College Web look and navigation since 2001. •