Updates to an Existing Page
Most updates to existing webpages are completed within 5 business days. Urgent requests can be completed within 1 day, and our team uses the following criteria to determine if a web request is urgent:
- information is incorrect
- a link is broken
- information is time-sensitive
However, there is no need to wait until the last minute to submit a time-sensitive request. Just indicate in your directions that a change should be published at a certain time, such as "8:30am Monday"or "any time after 12pm on Dec. 5". Our team will wait to publish the changes until the window of time you've specified.
If you are concerned about whether your request will be completed promptly, please contact your web representative on staff.
Adding or Removing a Page
Your web representative on staff will review your request and may reach out to you with some follow-up questions. We want to be sure that it a new page is built in the proper way and in the right spot. Also, we want to double-check that removing a page won't entirely erase important information that isn't included elsewhere on the web.
Once approved, a new page can be built within 5 business days if you've provided complete content for that page. If not, we can't begin building the new page until you've sent usuable content. Our team will review the content according to WSU web standards and make notes for revision as needed.
Once approved, it can take up to two weeks to remove a webpage. During this process, our team scans the entire WSU website and updates any links back to that unneeded page. Then we ask IT to take down the page from the live website.
Website Refresh or Redesign
A refresh project usually involves major content updates or restructuring multiple webpages. Depending on the scope of the project, a web refresh could take several weeks.
A website redesign means taking a hard look at the site navigation, page structure, content and images with the goal of rebuilding a site from scratch. This type of project can take anywhere from 3-6 months to complete-- sometimes longer if you aren't able to dedicate a lot of time to writing content and proofing the final design. The timeline also depends on the number of other projects your web representative is working on at the time.
Your web representative will meet with you prior to starting a web refresh or web redesign project.
Ways You Can Help Make the Web Update Process Faster
1. Provide detailed directions of the changes you want made.
Do your best to provide detailed directions about what text needs to swapped out, which link needs to be updated or where an image should be placed. Keep in mind that our team will make small changes as needed in order to follow WSU web standards.
We do understand that it can be overwhelming to write out specific directions when you are requesting a lot of website changes. Our team is happy to talk through any web update request via phone or even arrange a in-person meeting to discuss the requested changes. Just indicate that you would like a phone call or meeting in the "Additional Information" field when you submit your online request.
2. Reply quickly to questions for clarification
We try very hard to complete requested updates properly the first time, so our team will often ask for clarification if we're not sure of the directions. Please respond to any follow-up emails or phone calls as soon as you can so that your request stays on track. If we do make a mistake, please let us know right away by reviewing the changes and replying back to the notifcation email that your request has been completed.
3. Include all links, images and/or PDFs with your request
Before you submit your request, double-check that you've provided any links or attachments we'll need to complete your request. Emails back and forth to get required files can slow the process down significantly. Learn more about attaching files with your online request form.