1
Request a website
Reach out to the CMS team at websitehelp@ucdenver.edu to request a new website in Sitefinity.
Reminder: Web Accessibility Compliance Law in effect
The new Colorado accessibility law, HB21-1110, affects university websites and went into effect July 1, 2024. This means that university website owners/content managers must ensure your website content meets the minimum web accessibility standards.
Learn how to meet accessibility standardsBuild Process
Planning for a New Website
The length of the process can vary greatly, depending on the size of your website, new development requirements, resource availability and the pace at which the deliverables are met in each phase. You and your team will meet with the CMS team to plan for resource needs, website features and functionality, content creation, building pages and the website launch. The longest part of the process is usually creating/finalizing content and building out your new website in Sitefinity.
The first phase for a new website is the Kickoff/Discovery phase. The primary purpose is for our team to understand your needs as well as who your audiences are so we can help create the framework for your new website.
2
Initial consult
You will be contacted by the Web Customer Success & Training Professional to set up an initial consult to kick off your website project.
3
Identify your goals and audiences
After the initial consult, we will ask you to complete some questions to identify your website goals and audiences.
4
Complete Sitefinity training
You and anyone on your team that will need access to edit your website will need to complete the on-demand Sitefinity training. Register for Sitefinity training on this page.
5
Review sitemap and URL recommendations
After completing the website goals and audiences questions, our Information Architect will create an initial sitemap and identify a recommended website URL. We will share these recommendations with you for review. We can also provide a homepage wireframe for your new website buildout.
During your website build, the Web Customer Success & Training Professional will check in with you regularly to make sure you have the support you need. Sign up for an Open Lab session if you need help as you're building your website.
1
Site creation
After you finish reviewing the recommended sitemap and URL, the Web Development team will create your website in Sitefinity. We'll let you know when the website is ready and you can begin building.
2
Start building
Once you have access to your new website, you can start building your content and navigation structure.
3
Get help
You may have questions once you start working in Sitefinity. The CMS team holds weekly Open Labs on Monday mornings to provide one-on-one help with visual/user interface design, web accessibility, technical questions and more! Our @Web resource site is also a great reference guide for widgets in Sitefinity.
4
Plan your site launch
When your website build gets close to the finish line, you will work closely with the Web Customer Success & Training Professional to identify a launch date.
When your website build gets close to the finish line, we will need to plan the website launch. Review the checklist below and reach out with questions via Open Lab or websitehelp@ucdenver.edu.
1
Schedule your website launch
Pick a launch timeframe and work with the CMS team to schedule the specific launch date. We schedule launches 2-4 weeks out and typically launch websites every other Wednesday morning.
2
Check your website's navigation
Click through your website to be sure the navigation is consistent. Primary navigation should display the same throughout your website and whether you are using side navigation, breadcrumbs or both, there should be consistency on the child pages. Sign up for an Open Lab if you need help or advice!
3
Make sure each page has an H1
H1 Headers are important both for accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO). Each page throughout your website should have one H1 Heading that is a short, descriptive title of the page. These can be added in Hero Images or in a Content Block on the page. Learn more about accessible headers.
4
Check that all headers are in ranking order
Headers on each page should be in ranking order, starting with H1 and then moving to H2, H3 and so on depending on your content. They should not skip from H1 to H5. If you find yourself using a header for styling, instead use paragraph text and change the size from the inherited size to the desired font size in the Content Block. Learn more about accessible headers.
5
Add alternative text to all images
As you add images to your website, you must add alternative text for each image. Alternative text should be a description of what is seen in the photo (ex. Nursing Student on Anschutz Campus). If you need to go back and add alternative text to an image, select the option on the image to "Edit properties". Learn about accessible images and alt text.
6
Test your links and check that they are descriptive
All links should be working on the website and the text should be descriptive of where the link will take the user. Please refrain from using “Click here” and “Read more” links as these do not have enough context for the user. Learn more about accessible links.
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Complete page descriptions and keywords for each page
Add page descriptions and keywords in Title & Properties for each page. Page descriptions help Google know what your page is about. They help your site's SEO and support users in finding the content on your website that is relevant to their search. Learn about setting up pages.
8
Publish all pages on your website
Publish all pages on your website that you want to go live with your website launch. If there are any pages that aren't ready for launch, please unpublish them.
9
Get stakeholder approval on content
Be sure stakeholders have seen and approved the content on your new website. Anyone that needs access to edit the website will need to complete Sitefinity Training. If stakeholders just need to view the website before launch, submit a request to websitehelp@ucdenver.edu so that we can grant them Site Shield access before the website is live.
Teams involved
CMS team
The CMS team is made up of staff from OIT Web Services and Web Development. These web professionals will guide you through the website build process.
- Web Customer Success & Training Professional – client's primary point of contact; provides training and Open Lab session information, facilitates new website or website transition processes, and manages the @Web resource website.
- Information Architect/User Experience Designer – provides website URL recommendations, sitemaps, homepage wireframes, business analysis and user testing.
- Visual/User Interface Designer – consults on homepage designs; advises on best practices for displaying content.
- Senior Product Owner – gathers new feature requests and manages our development backlog.
- Web Analytics Support Specialist - provides insight on site-related data via reports; customer support for Siteimprove, Looker Studio and Google Analytics applications.
Client team
Members from your school/college/campus unit who will be most involved in the planning and creation of your new website. Some or all of the following roles may overlap depending on the size of your campus unit and what resources you have available (many smaller departments just have one representative working on their new website).
- Project sponsor
- Project lead
- Web content writer
- Website owner/builder
- School/college/unit communicator