cuTheme Rollout, Migration and Training Plan
This summer we will begin a phased migration of Carleton CMS and Framework websites into our new WordPress theme (cuTheme). The new theme introduces a slightly new look and feel, more content options, and the latest WordPress editor. You can read more about the upcoming changes in these posts.
When putting together the rollout plan, our number one goal was to provide ample training and support to make the transition as seamless as possible for everyone involved. We also wanted to allow enough time to perform an accessibility review of each site to ensure that any accessibility errors are corrected prior to going live.
The Rollout Plan
At this time we have six websites piloting the theme, and we are ready to embark on a multi-phase roll out. We will begin with framework sites, as the majority of the content residing on these websites will need to be manually migrated.
Following this, we will move on to CMS sites. These will be automatically migrated, but we do anticipate some manual tweaks that will need to be taken care of from our end.
You will notice that we have not added specific dates so that we can accommodate for extra time that might be required for training and accessibility fixes. All things considered, we anticipate each phase to last roughly two weeks.
Here is the schedule:
- Phase 1 – Framework sites and early adopters
- Phase 2 – DUC managed and OVPRI
- Phase 3 – Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
- Phase 4 – Student Services
- Phase 5 – Faculty of Public Affairs
- Phase 6 – Faculty of Engineering and Design
- Phase 7 – Faculty of Science
- Phase 8 – Graduate Studies
- Phase 9 – Advancement, EDC, Finance and Administration
- Phase 10 – Provost
- Phase 11 – Other (including research projects and labs)
If you have any questions or concerns about this rollout plan please let us know. If you would like to have your website migration scheduled for earlier or later in the rollout, let us know by filling out the form at the end of this post and it can be arranged.
The Migration Process and Accessibility Review
Prior to your site migration we will communicate with you directly to inform you of the process. At that point you are welcome to begin the online training modules and attend our live sessions.
On an agreed upon date we will migrate your site to the new theme on a staging site. Once this has been completed, we will conduct an accessibility review and send you a report indicating any accessibility errors that need to be addressed. We will be providing access to accessibility training to help you fix any of the issues that we find. Depending on the number and nature of issues discovered, we can also provide assistance and support to help fix these errors.
Training plan
As mentioned previously, our number one goal is support and training. With that in mind, we have developed two different training offerings – one for editing content in the new theme, and another for accessibility.
The WordPress training will be presented in modules, each containing several videos and knowledge checklists. Along with the training videos, we will also have quick reference sheets, online documentation, and live (virtual) Q&A Sessions, hosted by us, that anyone is free to attend. We are also setting up a Teams group where you can engage with other web community members to ask questions and solve problems. This was not what we had originally planned and will be doing our best to support each of you virtually.
As for the accessibility training, it has been mentioned previously that, before your site goes live you will be provided a report indicating the accessibility errors pertaining to the content on your websites. This report will include links to documentation on how to fix these errors, and will include videos on common accessibility errors. These videos will address a variety of issues, such as the improper use of headings, adding alt. text, properly linking content, and much more.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the rollout, the training, or the new theme, please fill out the form below. For more information about the theme, check out our introductory blog post.
Make sure to keep checking in for more updates!