Vanguard University: Streamlining Campus Web Publishing

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Vanguard University: Streamlining Campus Web Publishing

9/26/2002

By Andrew Kenney

In 1995, Vanguard University built its first Web site (www.vanguard.edu). Like many organizations on the early World Wide Web, the site was mainly “brochureware.” By late 1999, it had grown to nearly 300 static HTML pages that were infrequently updated because the process of adding or editing pages required development of a new HTML file and the reworking of navigation image maps. Site editors were limited to a handful of staff and faculty with significant technical skills. Consequently, content was often outdated and site visitors regularly e-mailed complaints, particularly about university news and sports stats.

As the school’s newly hired full-time Web master, I spent nearly all my time trying to keep the backlog of update requests from growing larger. I had little time to move the site’s infrastructure forward or add critical new features. Something had to change, and as it turns out, everything did.

After setting priorities for the needs of the site based on visitor usage, I began by building the site’s athletics section using Microsoft Active Server pages. I created a custom-built content management system (CMS) with page templates that were served from a database and updatable via browser-based, custom-built data-entry forms. Vanguard’s sports information director began posting her press releases, game wrap-ups and stats using this custom-developed system.

E-mails about outdated sports stats ended. Now, I had more time to build out other areas.

While Vanguard’s custom-built CMS was a big step forward, it was not a long-term solution. Entering content into the forms required non-technical people to learn basic HTML skills. Content editors using the form couldn’t see the page as it would look on the site. They had to proofread the content after publishing it to the site, then login to the CMS again to make revisions if mistakes were found or the page did not display properly. The system offered no way to add tables, pictures or media without content editors learning more advanced HTML. Code validation before publishing was impossible. The need for content editors to have technical expertise meant the solution was limited to only a slightly larger group than before. The university required a more user-friendly solution.

While continuing to build on my custom ASP-based CMS, I explored off-the-shelf options. Some solutions lacked the functionality we needed. Others had far too many features and a price way out of Vanguard’s range. I couldn’t find a system that was “just right.” Specifications for the new CMS included the ability to:

Write flawless HTML and/or XHTML
Add tables, pictures and other complex page elements without learning HTML
Easily add rich media
Auto-strip proprietary HTML and MS-XML from pasted MS Office documents
Be easy to use (i.e., no technical ability required and little or no learning curve)

I found nothing that could meet that challenge until I came across Ektron’s eWebEditPro, a stand-alone, browser-based, WYSIWYG content authoring tool. Unlike other Web editors such as Dreamweaver, FrontPage, or GoLive, this editing tool is designed specifically for use by non-technical people. It essentially replaces HTML <textarea> fields with a word processor-like interface complete with toolbar buttons for spell-checking, linking, tables, image upload and more. For under $300, I got a 10-user license and added the tool to my custom CMS.