The Daily Bulletin Archive

The fact that Buffalo State uses a content management system (CMS) and a suite of 12 official templates to help users develop campus Web pages isn’t exactly breaking news. But the fact that we’re looking to change content management systems may be.

The Road to CMS
In 2002, College Relations surveyed the college’s primary Web contacts (PWCs), the faculty and staff on campus who voluntarily maintain official Web subsites. The survey was undertaken to identify overall Web-development issues and needs specific to the PWC function. The findings, which cited lack of time, equipment, and training as leading causes for low self-publishing and infrequent site maintenance, led the college to explore content management systems and adopt Ingeniux, our current CMS.

The college has been using Ingeniux for four years. More than 500 campus users have been trained on the package, and more than 130 college subsites live within the Ingeniux system.

The Web at Buffalo State
Last year, the Buffalo State Web site received 10,484,000 unique visitors. The Web team, housed in College Relations, is responsible for maintaining and developing the Buffalo State Web site. The college’s Web site audience is myriad, including prospective and current students, donors, alumni, faculty, staff, and the general community. The Web team works in partnership with Computing and Technology Services; CTS ably manages the college’s Web servers and provides other necessary support.

All Web work at Buffalo State is driven by user feedback. Responses are gathered year-round, every year, through an array of Web metrics that “attack” www.buffalostate.edu from a variety of perspectives: content, visual design, usability, features, overall relevance, and whether or not current institutional priorities are being met. We recently solicited opinions from faculty, staff, and current students in preparation for a redesign of the main site (please visit the College Relations blog for more information).

Why Revisit CMS?
At a crossroads, we are contemplating either a significant upgrade to Ingeniux or a move to a new package. There are more than 50 content management systems on the market now (not so in 2003 when we were first searching). This additional choice, advancements in Web technology, and the addition of UNIX to our server mix may very well allow us to find a package superior to Ingeniux.

But whether we upgrade Ingeniux or move to a new system, campus users can be assured that no additional work will be required on their part. Content would be imported, and the design and navigation of the sites would carry over. Users would be fully trained in using any new system.

Evaluation Process and Status
Our first step in this process was to check in with campus users. This spring, we asked more than 30 current Ingeniux users and technology advocates to share their Web publishing and Ingeniux experiences with us. The responses we received were used to develop our user feature list. Top-of-list items include better Mac support, ability to make Web forms, ability to copy and paste content (that is, without having to save as plain text first), faster save, easier upload of PDFs, and ability to upload user-generated images.

We also connected with our colleagues in Computing and Technology Services for help in developing server and technical specifications. These are also now in place, so we have begun evaluating packages that match both user and technical requirements. The following packages are being evaluated by the College Relations/Computing and Technology Services working group: RedDot, Drupal, Moodal, Expression Engine, WebGui, Mambo, and Ingeniux.

Please check the College Relations blog for status reports, including information on package finalists, user-evaluation opportunities, and an estimated launch date.