September | 2015 | Under the Hood

What is WordPress?

Website content management system (CMS)
Open source website creation tool
Written in PHP
A tool that can be used to maintain your website using a web-browser on your desktop or handheld device

Who uses WordPress?

How did WOU select WordPress?

Recruitment expressed interest in a revamping of the WOU website, with a redesign that focused on new students
Graduate Programs hired Stamats to design a website that was in alignment with their mission
- Included in the design specifications, was a recommendation to utilize WordPress to implement the new design
  - Included in the specifications:
    - Search engine optimization
    - Mobile friendly site
    - X-platform video integration
HighEdWeb conference was attended by Public Relations, Graduate Programs and University Computing Services
- Other universities shared their success with an online CMS (WordPress)
- Several universities highly recommended utilizing WordPress
- There were several presentations where universities demonstrated many features that WordPress incorporates

Why WordPress?

Vast amounts of resources are available for the management and maintenance of WordPress
Easy to use plug-ins, which allow for unlimited possibilities, are available
- Fruitful Shortcodes
- Meta Slider Pro
- Custom coded plug-ins — built specifically for WOU needs
Mobile friendly
- Google pushes mobile friendly sites up to the top of search results
Better integration for blog and social media feeds
Cohesive look throughout the whole website which will give end users a better experience navigating the website as well as a more professional feel
Relevant and up to date content (old outdated pages/sites will be deleted and no longer searchable through Google)

How do I get WordPress support?

Contact Danielle Gauntz at 503-838-8215 or gauntz@wou.edu
Support provided thru:
- Training sessions
- One on one sessions
- Danielle or one of her staff will convert your site for you

Under the Hood