Frequently Asked Questions

Our new content management system (CMS) will be Drupal. Drupal is a growing CMS in the higher-education community with many institutions like Stanford, Duke, Arizona State, Oregon State, Harvard, Chicago, Yale, and Ohio State currently using it. The University Communications Digital Team and the ITS Web Support Team will be assisting each unit in planning their migration, constructing their site navigation, as well as training on how to use Drupal.

If a unit owns content today, they will continue to own, manage, and update the content in the future. The Web Redesign Project Core Team is working with content managers across campus to ensure that every current content manager will retain access to their content (i.e., login and edit their page as needed) and have access to training on how to use the new Drupal content management system.

If you have questions, please contact your web liaison or email wsp@odu.edu

The content you and your unit own/update today, will be the content you and your unit will own and update on the new site.The Web Redesign Project Core Team is working with content managers across campus to ensure that every current content manager will retain access to their content (i.e., login and edit their page as needed) and have access to training on how to use the new Drupal content management system.

If you have questions, please contact your web liaison or email wsp@odu.edu

Yes-this process will not change with the launch of the new site. The Photo Asset Upload Request form & the Document Asset Upload form will be used the same way that they have always been. However, be aware that the requirements to upload a photo (size, orientation, resolution) will change with the specs of the new website. We are very proud of the new site, and we want to make sure that we are using the right assets to compliment it.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to the size and functionality of ODU's website, our vendor needs additional time to complete the site delivery. In consultation with the WRP stakeholders, the WRP team has decided to delay the launch of Wave 1 until after the start of the fall semester 2022.

Website Redesign Project (WRP) launched in fall 2020 when ODU acquired Acquia Cloud and Aquia DAM as well as Drupal to replace our current content management system, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). Wave 1 of the new website is scheduled to launch in 2022.

For more detailed information on each phase and wave of the WRP, visit Project Phases & Timeline.

No - you will continue to use your current URL.

If you have questions, please contact your web liaison or email wsp@odu.edu

The entire ODU website is undergoing a significant migration and redesign, and due to the sheer volume of the current ODU site, we will be migrating all content to the new site in waves.

The first wave is scheduled to launch in the Fall of 2022. The Web Redesign Project Core Team will be working with units across campus to identify which wave they will be a part of. As the waves are determined, they will be listed here: ODU Web Redesign Project Content Migration Schedule.

Web Redesign Project Core Team will work with campus partners to migrate all content from AEM to Drupal until the entire site is migrated (Summer 2023).

If you have questions, please contact your web liaison or email wsp@odu.edu.

If you see your office/department/unit listed under the "Sites" column, this denotes your entire site and all of its child pages will be migrated.

If you see your office/department/unit listed under the "Landing Pages" column, this denotes that only the landing page of you site will be migrated at this time, and any other pages associated with your office/department/unit will be migrated in a later wave.

• E.g. The Life at ODU landing page (odu.edu/life) will be migrated to the new site in Wave 1, but the child pages of Life at ODU or other associated pages will not be migrated until a later wave.

The Web Redesign Project Core Team will be training all content managers on how to use our new content management system in accordance with when their unit or department's content is being migrated to the new site. If your unit or department is going to be migrated in the first wave of the content migration, you will be trained before the site launches in the Fall of 2022.

If you are in waves two or later, you will be notified when it is your turn to prepare your content for migration. You will also be contacted when it is your turn to be trained on how to use the Drupal content management system (CMS), so you can continue to edit your sites after they go live on the new platform.

For more detailed information on each phase and wave of the WRP, visit Project Phases & Timeline.

Mockups of the new site can be viewed here.

The website style guide will be one of the last assets developed. As the designs move from idea to use, changes are expected and thus, the guide is best developed and delivered thereafter. Once complete, the style guide will be available on odu.edu/toolkit.

Yes! Every page has been designed with mobile in mind and will feature an accessible and user-centric design. The new website has been designed with a heavy focus on optimal usability on mobile. you can view mockups of the new site and its mobile design here.

Yes! Your favorite quick links will still be readily available on the new site, and in an even more convenient place. The new ODU site navigation menu has been improved to create an easier navigation to all the University's web pages, including all the links you look for on a day-to-day basis. You will be able to view mockups of the new site closer to the launch, and a test link will be shared to the campus community the week of the launch so that you can acclimate yourself to the new site before go-live.