Web Content Management Update University of Louisville April 12, 2005

Content Management Systems Content management systems are used to systematically create, organize, publish, manage and maintain web-based information and resources.

Content Management at UofL Content TypesSoftware Academic ResourcesBlackboard ULink Portal and PeopleSoft Self-service PeopleSoft Portal Document Imaging and Archiving OnBase Document collaboration and sharing DocuShare Departmental web creation and maintenance ???

UofL Departmental web sites Inconsistent in look and feel Navigation changes from page to page Content often out of date Variable quality of content Content difficult and labor intensive to maintain Web pages not designed to be handicapped accessible

Goal 1. Provide tools, resources and support for departmental web creation and maintenance that will: Simplify creation and maintenance of web sites Ensure a consistent look and feel Provide for handicapped accessibility Enable maintenance by causal web users Support editorial processes (content approval and scheduling workflow)

Content Management System Features Page templates Create consistent look and feel across a set of pages Maintain navigation across site Build in accessibility Use web standards Structured data entry Create and maintain content without use of HTML Ease maintenance for non-technical content owners Workflow process Allows for approval from editor before publishing Scheduling of content can automate removal

CMS features (continued) Separation of content from presentation Allows reuse of content with telephones, handhelds, and other devices Provide built-in applications types Mail forms Departmental calendar of events Departmental news Photo Gallery Advanced search

Evaluation Process Organize CMS Team Interview CMS users and stakeholders Examine technical requirements Develop strategy and evaluation criteria Survey available software Implement pilot project Develop recommendation Review with advisory groups

Evaluation Criteria System Capabilities (required) Compatible with proposed Linux environment Load Balancing and Scalability Supports LDAP authentication Distributed administration Granular (role-based) privileges

Evaluation Criteria (continued) Product Features (required) Accessibility Support (section 508 and WAI) Flexible and fully customizable templates Capability to assign different look and feel by unit Content approval workflow Ability for casual users to maintain content

Evaluation Criteria (continued) Product Features (required) SSL compatible Unlimited license for servers, users, and URLs Ability to interoperate seamlessly with other UofL web environments, portal, etc. Availability of commercial support

Evaluation Criteria (continued) Product Features (desired) Content Scheduling Human readable and publishable URLs Version control Advanced Search capabilities Support web standards (XHTML and CSS) Undo

Evaluation Criteria (continued) Product Features (desired) Automatic generation of navigation Through-the-web editing Online help Available training Content syndication Wide user base Inexpensive to deploy

Evaluation Criteria (continued) Built-in Applications Mail form Departmental calendar of events Departmental News Photo Gallery Search Engine Site map Survey/polls Forum

Popular CMS Products ContextXMLUses XML with XSLT to store and deliver content. Focus on content re-use. Commercial $100K+ licensing DocumentumFocus on massive sites for storage and publications of internal corporate information. Commercial $500K+ licensing DrupalPHP based small to mid-size CMS. Open Source licensing eZpublishPHP based small to mid-size CMS. Open Source licensing IBM CMS (Websphere)Large scale CMS. integrates with Lotus Notes, DB2, and Websphere applications server. Commercial $250K+

Popular CMS Products (cont’d) InterwovenLarge scale system focusing on versioning, workflow, and templating. Commercial $400K+ MamboFocus on corporate web sites, PHP based CMS. Open source licensing MidgardPopular Australian-based enterprise content management framework (tool set). Open source licensing Microsoft CMSEnterprise CMS based on Microsoft web server, sharepoint, and.NET technology. Commercial $100K+ licensing OmniUpdateASP updating server for web sites. Commercial per- user licensing model.

Popular CMS Products (cont’d) PloneFlexible enterprise content management system based on Zope’s content management framework. Open source licensing. RedDotEnterprise content management system with a sophisticated editing capability. Commercial $150K+ licensing SiteRefreshFlexible Java based web publishing toolkit. Commercial $25K+ licensing Typo3Popular European-based open source CMS. Open source licensing WebGUIModular object-oriented “application framework” for content management. Open source licensing.

Results of Product Survey Very wide variety of options and approaches Options range from individual blogging software to comprehensive enterprise application systems CMS products are often dependent on additional vendor product sets such as Lotus Notes, Microsoft Sharepoint server, etc.

Results of Survey (continued) Commercial options Expensive and proprietary Primarily targeted at business, e-commerce sites Open source options Good fit with existing network and server environment (Linux, apache) Open, flexible and customizable Good fit with departmental publishing needs

Top Candidate Plone CMS Open source Highly customizable Support for large enterprise departments Enable rapid implementation Maintenance by casual users Wide user base Commercial support available

Plone Characteristics Compatible with UofL environment Cross-platform support: Linux, Windows, Sun, Apple, BSD Support for LDAP authentication Ability to distribute administration and privileges Content scheduling and approval Ability to import/export websites

Plone Characteristics (continued) Standard templates validate to web standards (XHTML and CSS) Standard templates implement accessibility standards (WAI and 508) Supports load balancing and scalability Existing experience Commercial support

Plone Characteristics (continued) A sample of Plone users include: Duke University North Carolina State UNC, Chapel Hill Rice University, Houston Loyola University, Chicago NASA Mars rover - Sigma Xi, research Society -

Implementation Considerations Establish production environment and LDAP connection Identify technical support staff (1/2 FTE) Develop user support staff (1/2 FTE) Additional Helpdesk resources Develop documentation and training Develop sample templates Develop custom support offerings

Summary A content management system can help University departments develop consistent web sites, meet accessibility standards, ease maintenance of content by casual users, and implement editorial processes to maintain content quality. The Plone CMS is currently the top candidate. Implementation will require: Integration with enterprise infrastructure, including LDAP Technical support staff (1/2 FTE estimated) End user support and training (1/2 FTE estimated) Additional HelpDesk resources

Discussion This presentation is located at Mike Dyre