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New
Web addresses up
By
John Jones
In
an effort to establish more consistent addresses for university
Web sites, the Office of University Communications and Marketing
has set up a collection of Web addresses and redirect pages.
A Web
address has been created for every office or department with a Web
site connected to the main university pages. Each address uses the
main university root (www.wichita.edu),
a slash and then the name of the office or department, perhaps shortened
to a keyword or abbreviation.
Why
is this important? "Users appreciate a consistent naming system,"
explains Mark Eby, WSU’s new director of interactive marketing.
"It helps them find their way to a Web site, even if the link is
not obvious on the page that they are visiting. They can simply
type in an address that makes sense and find their way to the right
page."
For
example, the Barton School of Business’ new address is www.wichita.edu/barton.
The Barton School’s actual page is on its own server, business.twsu.edu,
and will stay there. Users who type in the new address will be instantly
transferred to the old address. Another page has been created at
www.wichita.edu/business,
which also redirects users to the actual school of business site.
There
are many advantages to using redirect pages. It’s not necessary
to move or recreate a site to use the new URL. And, as the existing
site won’t be changing, the old Web address will still work.
"The
main advantage is the departments can choose to use this address
at any time — right away, or in a few months, etc.," Eby says.
"If you’re using your department’s Web address in marketing
materials, as you should be, you can make this change the next time
you print new materials. URLs printed in older materials will continue
to work, so there’s no need to reprint existing materials,
or send out corrections."
To
see a list of the new addresses that have been created, go to www.wichita.edu/urls.
If your department or office is not represented on that list, or
if you want to suggest an alternate address, contact Eby at 978-3335
or mark.eby@wichita.edu.
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