WCER Website Redesign Dashboard

Hello WCER Community,

I am excited to share that we anticipate launching Phase 1 of the newly redesigned WCER website on Thursday, Aug. 20.

This redesign has been guided by a simple vision: highlight and celebrate the work of the entire research community. From the beginning, our goal was to create an enhanced WCER presence that elevates individual researchers, research projects, and our community, while ensuring our community’s voices were heard throughout the process.

What’s changing?

The redesign for Phase 1 focused on streamlining our audiences, simplifying content, improving navigation, strengthening digital accessibility and security, and reinforcing WCER’s brand identity. The most significant change is our focus on external audiences, including prospective partners, funders, researchers, media, and the public.

As a reminder, you can find information intended for WCER researchers and staff on the Administrative Services webpage, where you can find information on Budget & Finance, Human Resources, Facilities, the Office of Research & Scholarship (pre- and post-award, contracts, and communications), and MERIT (research technology).

What’s coming in Phase 2?

 The website launch is the first phase of a larger effort.

One key feature not included in the initial launch is a staff directory, which we hope to complete by the end of the calendar year. We will share additional details through future emails and newsletters, and we will need your participation to help make this resource successful.

Phase 2 will also include the creation of research area pages. This addition will better showcase the work happening across WCER, integrate with the future staff directory, and provide improved discovery tools for exploring WCER projects and research expertise.

Questions, issues, or feedback?

The Office of Research & Scholarship Communications team has developed a project dashboard where you can track progress and updates.

I’ll send a follow-up email once the new site has launched and the team has tested to ensure there are no problems. If, after launch, you encounter issues or have specific feedback, please submit details through the feedback form.

A running list of submitted feedback, fixes, and implementation updates will be maintained at the bottom of the dashboard page.

Thank you to everyone who contributed ideas, feedback, time, and expertise throughout this process. We look forward to sharing the new WCER website with you soon.

Best,

Mariana Castro

We’re excited to share that the buildout of the new WCER website is complete and ready for review by the WCER Director’s Office. This is a major milestone as we move closer to launch.

The next phase of the project is user testing, which will begin with focused groups in late July. If you are interested in participating in testing and providing feedback on the new site, please email Katie Grant by July 20 to be added to the participant list. We anticipate that volunteers will need to spend 1–2 hours reviewing the site and answering a few questions around July 24–31.

As part of our final content review process, all projects will have an opportunity to review and approve their project descriptions before launch. PIs and project managers should watch for an upcoming email from Carrie Welsh, as the review window will be limited to keep the project on schedule.

We are also finalizing the site’s August launch date, with a decision expected this week. More details will be shared soon.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this effort so far. We’re looking forward to sharing the new, more streamlined and engaging WCER website with you soon!

We’re excited to share progress (and a sneak preview) about the WCER website redesign. The project is now in the build phase, with content drafted, approved, and actively being migrated into the new site. We anticipate finishing page builds by the end of June, followed by testing in mid-to-late July as we prepare for an August launch.

The new site features streamlined content, a clearer focus on external audiences, and improvements to research storytelling, navigation, accessibility and overall look and feel. Our goal is to better showcase WCER’s impact and make it easier for external partners to connect with our work and expertise.

Check out this homepage preview for a glimpse of the more visual, engaging design (still evolving!).

Because of the fast pace of this project, some features may be limited at launch. A second phase will follow immediately, focused on improving how users find expertise at WCER — including a filterable staff directory and research areas. Your input will be critical. Please watch for opportunities this fall from the ORS Communications team and Carrie Welsh to help shape these tools.

Stay tuned for testing opportunities and ways to share feedback.

The WCER website redesign continues to move forward on schedule. Since last month, the team has developed site wireframes and built out the primary navigation. Work has begun on content migration for pages that will remain unchanged. The creation of new content is also underway, including revisions to existing pages as needed.

The project is now transitioning into a more visible phase. Beginning in early June, the team will start building live webpages, meaning there will soon be tangible progress to share. While the August launch timeline remains in place (with exact timing to be determined in the coming weeks), planning is also underway for a second phase of the project focused on enhancements, including improvements to research categorization.

The new site places strong emphasis on high-quality visuals. Staff should be aware that, as a result, additional high-resolution headshots may be needed later this year to support this approach. A sneak peek and opportunities to engage in the work will be shared in next month’s Inside WCER newsletter.

The WCER website redesign project is officially underway, led by the Office of Research & Scholarship (ORS) Communications in collaboration with WCER leadership. The project is currently targeting a tentative August launch, with opportunities for WCER staff to participate in usability testing and provide feedback later this summer (around July).

The primary goal of the redesign is to simplify and streamline WCER’s web content to better serve external audiences, including funders, partners, and practitioners, while clearly showcasing the breadth and impact of WCER research and updating to a more modern and accessible website platform.

Work to date has included a full content audit of the current site — which includes more than 4,500 pages — and the development of a clear strategy to guide next steps and keep the project moving forward.

For those interested in following progress, a WCER Website Redesign Dashboard is available and will be updated throughout the project. Additionally, we will continue to share monthly updates here in the WCER newsletter.

More opportunities to engage will be shared as the project progresses.