Websites
Digital Communications determines the strategic direction of the Brandeis website, which welcomes nearly 3 million visitors a year. We spread the Brandeis story to a worldwide audience and enable our university colleagues to do the same.
Our team works to ensure that website content supports the university’s strategic goals and brand, and is accessible to all people, regardless of physical or developmental abilities and impairments.
What We Do
-
Oversee the Brandeis University website, including websites for academic departments and programs, administrative offices, and research centers and institutes.
-
Set and enforce university website guidelines and best practices, including web accessibility requirements.
- Create official university websites and assist academic departments and programs, administrative offices, and research centers and institutes with maintaining their websites.
-
Provide training and support for university web editors in the use of Brandeis' content management system (CMS) and digital accessibility; address technical questions, identify errors and improve sites by promoting best practices.
-
Manage the university’s digital asset portal, a searchable online library of photographs available to the Brandeis community.
How to Reach Us
Three Things to Remember
-
Consider your audience. Most visitors to department and program websites are prospective students and other external audiences looking for information about our programs and faculty. Before adding content, consider whether it engages these audiences and reflects the quality of your program.
-
Grab the reins. Departments and programs are responsible for maintaining their websites. Your web editor should review your site often for outdated or missing information, broken links, typographical errors, etc. to provide the best experience possible for website visitors. This includes making sure faculty information — such as expertise, profile and publications — is up-to-date.
-
We're here to help. Consult Digital Communications before undertaking a major restructuring of your website. We can offer advice on organizing your site, analyzing web traffic, selecting the best photos and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Expand All
Every academic department and program has a website in Brandeis' standard university web templates. These web templates are responsive (meaning they are mobile friendly) and accessible (meaning they can be accessed by people using assistive technology, like screen readers). Content added by the department or program must also be accessible.
Websites Are a Marketing Tool
Prospective students and families learn about Brandeis’ academic offerings on our department and program websites. It is important that websites are kept up-to-date. Each department and program should have at least one web editor with the computer and communications skills to make regular updates to a website. Web editors are trained to use the content management system (CMS) by members of the Digital Communications team.
Academic Landing Pages Within Websites
Within every academic website is a “landing page” for each degree program. These pages were written by a professional marketing writer, in partnership with the department or program, with marketing to prospective students and search engine optimization in mind. They are listed on the main Degree Programs page for the university. Updates to these pages are coordinated with Digital Communications.
Web editors must complete two different trainings before being granted web editing and publishing privileges: one in the basic use of Brandeis' content management system (CMS) and one in web accessibility.
- CMS training is held virtually; visit the CMS Guide website to enroll.
- Web accessibility trainings are done on your own at your own pace; self-enroll via LATTE.
Yes! First, your web editor should consult the CMS Guide, which gives step-by-step instructions for performing all of the major functions in the Brandeis CMS. If you are unable to resolve your issue, send an email to cmshelp@brandeis.edu and a member of our team will contact you.
Every academic department and program has a website in Brandeis' standard university web templates. Requests for new websites are considered on a case-by-case basis by submitting the New Website Request Form.
After submitting the form, you will be contacted twice: once automatically with the contents of your submission, and then directly by a member of Digital Communications to discuss the request.
Yes. The Office of Communications uses PhotoShelter to manage the university’s digital asset portal. Members of the Brandeis community can login to PhotoShelter to access photos of Brandeis, such as images of campus, classrooms and more. If you are considering using non-Brandeis photos, please review our note about copyright.
Yes. Text on Brandeis websites should follow the grammar, punctuation and spelling rules outlined in the Associated Press Stylebook. All members of the Brandeis community can access the online AP Stylebook using their UNet login credentials.