Redesigning Department Sites Without Chaos

The Department Redesign Challenge

Department website redesigns in higher education are a special kind of project management challenge. You're dealing with faculty who are experts in their field but not in web design, staff with competing priorities, students whose input matters but is hard to gather, and a web team caught between university standards and departmental desires.

These projects fail when ownership is unclear, when stakeholders disengage, or when the web team tries to push changes without buy-in. They succeed when roles are defined, expectations are managed, and the process respects both university needs and departmental identity.

Before You Begin

Confirm Executive Sponsorship

Without active support from department leadership, projects stall:

• Chair or director must commit to participating
• They need authority to make decisions for the department
• Ensure they understand the time commitment
• Get written commitment before scheduling kickoff

Define Decision-Making Authority

Clarify who decides what before disagreements arise:

• University/web team decides: Brand, technical standards, templates, accessibility
• Department decides: Content, information architecture within templates, imagery
• Joint decisions: Navigation structure, feature priorities, timeline trade-offs

Assess Readiness

Before starting, evaluate:

• Does the department have capacity to participate?
• Is content available or does it need creation?
• Are there political issues that will complicate decisions?
• Is there budget for any custom development needed?

Discovery Phase

Discovery builds understanding and buy-in simultaneously.

Stakeholder Interviews

• Meet with chair/director, key faculty, and staff
• Understand their goals and frustrations
• Learn about their audiences and priorities
• Identify potential resistance early

Content Audit

• Inventory existing content
• Identify outdated or missing content
• Note content ownership and maintenance responsibilities
• Flag migration challenges

User Research

• Who uses the department site?
• What are they trying to accomplish?
• What works and what doesn't?
• Consider prospective students, current students, faculty, staff, external visitors

Discovery Deliverables

Document findings in a discovery report that includes:

• Stakeholder goals and requirements
• User needs and priorities
• Content inventory and gaps
• Technical requirements
• Recommended approach

Design and Templates

The Template Approach

Templates balance consistency with flexibility:

• University-approved templates ensure brand compliance
• Departments choose from template options
• Custom content within standard structures
• Reduces development time and maintenance burden

What to Standardize

• Header and navigation structure
• Footer content and links
• Typography and color palette
• Core page layouts
• Mobile responsive behavior

Where to Allow Flexibility

• Hero images and featured content
• Content organization within pages
• Custom sidebar content
• Specialized page types for specific needs

Content Migration

Content migration is where department redesigns often stall.

Common Challenges

• More content than expected
• No one knows who owns what content
• Content is outdated and needs rewriting
• Department expects web team to migrate everything

Migration Strategies

• Selective migration: Only move content that's current and needed
• Shared responsibility: Web team handles technical migration, department reviews and updates content
• Sunset old content: Archive rather than migrate outdated materials

Content Migration Process

1. Inventory all existing content

   Create a spreadsheet listing every page and its status.

2. Categorize each item

   Migrate as-is, migrate with updates, archive, or delete.

3. Assign ownership

   Name who is responsible for each piece of content.

4. Set deadlines

   Content must be ready by specific dates or launch proceeds without it.

5. Follow up relentlessly

   Content deadlines slip. Build in buffer and check progress regularly.

Managing Stakeholders

Regular Communication

• Weekly status updates during active phases
• Clear milestone communication
• Early warning of delays or issues
• Documented decisions and rationale

Handling Disagreements

• Listen to concerns fully before responding
• Separate preferences from requirements
• Escalate to appropriate authority when needed
• Document decisions for future reference

Faculty Dynamics

Faculty present unique challenges:

• Expertise in their field doesn't translate to web expertise
• Academic culture values individual autonomy
• They may have strong opinions about content they don't maintain
• Their time is genuinely limited

Respect their expertise while maintaining web standards. Frame guidance as professional recommendation, not mandate.

Launch and Handoff

Pre-Launch Checklist

• All critical content migrated and reviewed
• Redirects in place for changed URLs
• Forms and integrations tested
• Mobile experience verified
• Stakeholder sign-off obtained

Training

• Train content editors on the new system
• Create documentation for common tasks
• Establish support channels for questions
• Schedule follow-up check-ins

Post-Launch Support

• Monitor for issues in the first weeks
• Address problems quickly
• Gather feedback for improvements
• Transition to ongoing maintenance mode

Sustainable Department Redesigns

Department redesigns don't have to be chaotic. With clear roles, realistic expectations, and structured processes, these projects can improve university websites while maintaining productive relationships.

Start with departments that want to participate. Build templates and processes that scale. Learn from each project. And remember that the goal isn't just a new website—it's a sustainable system for maintaining great department web presences over time.