Update on Website redesign and renewal project and next steps
Dear colleagues,
In order to make the SMC website more effective in telling the Saint Mary’s story to key audiences (prospective students and their families, alumni, donors, and the general public), a broad based committee of representatives from across campus have worked over the past nine months on its renewal and redesign. Assisted by our partner SimpsonScarborough and guided by our agreed upon strategy and brand guidelines, the project includes new visual design and a streamlined site navigation, among other enhancements.
A prototype of the new website is available here.
The new site will launch on October 1st. While much has already been done to prepare for the development of the new site, a great deal more will need to be accomplished in the next three months. A number of key milestones are upcoming, including:
Starting July 1, content from the existing SMC website will be extracted and imported into the new design. As a result any content added to the current site after July 1, will need to be recreated on the new site before it launches on October 1. Any less than critical changes, should be scheduled for after the launch of the new website.
Once we receive access to the new site in August, website editors will need to review the content of their webpages. An editorial committee will review website editor revisions to ensure consistency and accuracy across the site.
Web editors will receive training on the new website in early August. Training dates will be announced shortly. Afterwards, they will gain access to their respective areas to make content and design edits to enhance them.
Many thanks to the members of the website renewal committee for their efforts to date and to the members of the various implementation committees for their diligent efforts in the weeks ahead. We will update the community on progress later this summer. In the meantime, if you have questions about the project, feel free to reach out to either one of us.
Regards,
Ashley Rose
Director of Communication, Institutional Website & Digital Design
Michael Beseda
Vice President, Enrollment and Communications