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Web Redesign Project
The University of Mississippi

Frequently Asked Questions

Project Overview

What is the goal of this project? What can I expect to see when the project is completed?

At a time when major colleges and universities typically refresh website redesigns every 3-5 years, the last redesign of olemiss.edu was completed in 2013. The university seeks to design and build a modern, fully accessible website that reflects current best practices in web design and allows for presenting more engaging and dynamic content. The project will include the creation of a robust and agile web governance model that provides clear guidance for content creation and publication on the site, and provide data and insights more effectively and sustainably across the .edu. In addition, the project will include search engine optimization (SEO) enhancements to make sure that the new website performs well in search results.

When will the new website be live?

The combination of a comprehensive website redesign and the migration to a new content management system could take more than 18 months to complete in full. We expect to deliver the first phase of the new site as soon as Spring 2022.

Who is delivering this project for the university?

The project is being managed jointly by the university’s offices of Information Technology and University Marketing & Communications. In the fall, the project team and a committee of campus representatives conducted an RFP to identify a digital agency partner to collaborate on the project. That RFP process led to the selection of OHO Interactive, a digital agency based in Somerville, Massachusetts, that works extensively with higher education institutions. 

How are you engaging with the campus community to inform the direction of the project?

The project team will be aided in this process by a Website Advisory Committee comprised of a cross-section of faculty, staff, students and administrators who will serve as a sounding board for the project team throughout the project. In addition, project updates will be shared with the campus community through the project website. The members of the advisory committee are listed on the project website.

I’m not on the committee. How am I able to contribute ideas or stay involved?

Should you have comments for the committee, we encourage you to share that input via this form.

Website Management

What is the new website platform and what will it replace?

A content management system houses all forms of content for a website. As part of the redesign project, we will transition from WordPress to Cascade8. One notable difference is that WordPress is an open source platform, while Cascade8 is a proprietary platform designed for higher education institutions and provided by Hannon Hill.

When will my site be migrated to the new platform?

Members of the core project team are reviewing the current website and subdomains with our digital agency partner, OHO Interactive. Once a plan is formalized, we will communicate information about the process on this site. We anticipate that sites will be prioritized and scheduled based on the readiness of individual departments. 

Are there things my department can do to be ready for migration to the new content management system?

Yes! Representatives from IT and University Marketing & Communications have performed a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) technical audit. Members of the team are reaching out to respective website points of contact to share the findings and recommendations resulting from that audit to begin essential site clean–up work and  eliminate stale elements of the site (i.e., outdated content, low–performing pages, PDFs, etc.) that are no longer needed. This process will assist you in preparing for migration to a new content management system. 

How can we begin the process of archiving material that we may not want to migrate to the new content management system?

If you wish to engage in conversations about how to begin cleaning up your site and eliminate outdated or unneeded web pages, please contact Ryan Whittington in University Marketing & Communications. 

Who can we talk to for technical support to aid our department’s migration efforts?

As we get closer to that phase of the project, more information will be shared on this site about how this work will be executed and the resources available. 

What can we expect to gain by migrating to Cascade8?

    • A clean and user-friendly process to enter and manage content without requiring extensive technical skill, which will allo departments to focus on the content and how best to attract users.
    • Once on a unified platform, the university (including departments) will be able to gain further insights into our visitors and even tailor content accordingly. (Example: A potential student who has browsed a specific program or submitted a form indicating interest in a certain school/major/etc. can see images, text, and other web content that is tailored to their expressed interest.) This will also allow for very tailored marketing campaigns as well as metrics on the success of those efforts.
    • Cascade8 CMS automatically scans and monitors for stale content, spelling, grammar, broken links, and accessibility concerns. It provides reports and notifications to the staff responsible for each block of content, thereby helping all of us to deliver fresh, grammatically clean, and appropriate content.
    • Improvements to site security, stability, search engine rankings and overall page performance.