More than ever, our University's website is proving to be a powerful platform that helps us tell our story with purpose and relevance. Seven years after its last revamp, uOttawa.ca is getting a fresh look and the first changes went live the week of August 16, with more updates rolling out over the next few months.
"This website redesign is part of a larger endeavour to rethink who we are, and who we want to become. As highlighted in the University's Transformation 2030 strategic framework: we want to be an organization that is more agile, more impactful, more connected and more sustainable" says uOttawa Executive Director Marketing and Brand Nicolas Gregoire-Racicot. "It is critical that we stay relevant to our largest stakeholder group — our students."
The University's Web Perspectives Project (PWP) team implemented the website update under the leadership of Gregoire-Racicot and Senior Director IT Solutions Daniel Trottier. They made these changes after consulting with the Web Community Advisory Group, made up of more than 120 uOttawa community members. Students also played a key role, helping to validate the new design and information architecture.
So, what's different?
This redesign is contemporary and clean with a new secondary colour palette and a simpler navigation. It is now compatible with the major browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, etc.) and all devices (phones, tablets and computers). The entire website boasts greater accessibility, which will help us meet our regulatory requirements. In addition to a new look and feel, the backend mechanics of the site have been modernized, with an updated content management system (Drupal 8). The new platform is now in the cloud, which means improved reliability and security.
When are all these changes taking place?
The homepage and top-level webpages launched on August 16, 2021. Because so many webpages exist within the uOttawa website, the updates won't happen all at once. The remaining sites will roll out over the fall and winter school terms.
Share your feedback!
This updated site will change the experience for our users, but it will also impact teams across the University. All web managers have been briefed about the transition, but the PWP website is a useful resource for anyone who has further questions about the project. If your questions aren't answered there, you can email the PWP team directly. Students with comments or suggestions can submit them at uOSatisfACTION.