It’s the middle of the summer, but the work of redesigning Trinity’s website marches on. Our project team has hit several milestones since the spring, and we have a few more coming up. In this post we will update you on what we’ve accomplished, what we’re doing right now, and when we will launch the new site.

What We’ve Accomplished

As of today, we have reached the following milestones:

• The site’s design is complete.
• The coding to build the site is complete (front-end development).
• We have a content strategy document that guides us in creating successful content.
• We have a document that outlines how everything on the site is supposed to behave.
• The WordPress CMS is built and our project team is adding content.

 

Completed Design

When we last reported on the design templates for the site, we had arrived at a second version and chosen a design direction. Thanks to the incredible response from the Trinity community, we have been able to incorporate smart feedback from a variety of perspectives into what is now the final design system for the college’s site. This means all the designs for the pages in the site are complete.

Click on any of the template images to view them larger in a new tab. All words and photos are for placement only (FPO) and do not represent final choices.

Completed Front-End Development

The coding team at Fastspot has finished their development work. This means the WordPress editing environment is done and all the components that collectively form the design and behavior of the site are fully built.

Completed Content Strategy

The content strategy document contains guidance on voice and tone usage throughout the site, and it outlines the optimal use for each page template and component used in the site. The principles and the document will be given to site editors during WordPress training in order to help them be as successful as possible with their new sites.

Completed Functional Requirements

A functional requirements document is a tool for the project team to name and define all the components in the site and how they are supposed to behave. Components are the individual items that are used to build a page template, and a template is a collection of components arranged in a particular layout and order. Not only does this document help our team keep track of all the parts, but portions of this document will help site editors understand how to choose the right components that will help them achieve their goals with their websites.

The WordPress Environment

This week our project team was given the proverbial keys to the WordPress CMS for the college’s site, and we are actively populating the site with the content we have identified for launch. The site is currently residing on Fastspot’s development server until it is completed and handed over to Trinity for launch.

Looking Ahead: The Immediate Future

As our project team populates the site with content, the Fastspot team is working through quality assurance (QA) testing. This means they are combing through the site to identify and resolve bugs that affect functionality for both the site user and the editors using WordPress. Over the course of the next five weeks, our project team will be building content in the site, including migrating the sites we have identified for launch. We remain in touch with departments and site owners throughout this process. Of course if you have questions, you can feel free to be in touch.

Looking Ahead: Launch

Trinity’s new website will launch early during the week of August 27. This is an exciting moment for our entire community, but we understand that you may have questions.

• When will my site be migrated into the new site?
• When will I receive training on how to edit in the new website?
• What do I do if I discover a problem with the new site?
• What if I can’t find what I’m looking for?
• What happens after launch?

First, in the next week or so we will have a post that details the site’s launch plan.

Second, if you have questions, please ask! We’re here to help you know as much as possible about the website.

 

Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash