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Websites

Websites are among the most important sources of information for the university's prospective students and their parents, future research and industry partners, donors and reporters. A site's visual appeal and navigation often creates the first impression that leads website visitors to take further action, such as visiting the university campus, making a gift, or getting in touch with a researcher to initiate a new project. We want to make sure we're putting our best foot forward with our websites.

The role of the CMS:

Ontario Tech University uses a content management system (CMS) to manage its faculty and departmental websites. Websites housed in the CMS are designed according to a standard template. This ensures a consistent look across all of the university's websites: they all have a similar overall layout, the same look and feel, and consistent style elements such as font and colour choice.

Tips:

  • If your research or other website is not currently in the CMS, we encourage you to get it moved over. Fill out our Project Initiation Form with your request.
  • Keep your website content fresh and up-to-date, and keep your text readable by making it clear and brief. Incorporate the university's key messages where possible.
  • Don't include the OTU acronym, or the old University of Ontario Instiute of Technology name or UOIT acronym, in your content. 
  • Ensure any university logos on your pages or in downloadable files are current. If you have a photo on your website that still has an old logo on it, change it to a new photo. See our collection of photos on the university's Brandfolder website.
  • Consider the purpose of your website, your audience(s) and the information you want to communicate to them. Set up your website so that the most important information is easy for your audience to find (don't make them click through several pages to find it). 
  • Avoid creating text-heavy pages. Depending on the website/audience, the average time spent on a page can be 15 seconds to two minutes (and half of that time if the user is on a mobile device). Pages work best when the content is short and direct.
  • Websites in the CMS collect analytics data. Use this data to make data-driven decisions about your website content and performance, and understand how to better engage your audience. For additional guidance with analytics, contact webteam@ontariotechu.ca. 
  • Take advantage of the many built-in components and elements available in the CMS that improve your website's visual appeal in a brand-consistent way while enhancing the user experience. For inspiration, check out the the sample site.
  • Use images and graphics that match well with your content and suport the university's key messages. See our collection of photos on the university's Brandfolder website.
  • Avoid sharing uoit.ca URLs with external or internal audiences (even if they still work). The URLs for all Ontario Tech websites now contain ontariotechu.ca.

See the websites section on the university's Brand Central website for additional guidelines. If you need help with your website, feel free to reach out to webteam@ontariotechu.ca.