MarCom Studio

Here you’ll find step-by-step processes, roles and handoffs between UTSA’s centralized Web Team (University Marketing), division-based web personnel and site owners.

How to Request an Edit or fix an Error on a UTSA Website

If you are a UTSA faculty or staff member, submit the issue to the relevant Web Team for the site.

If you are a UTSA student, submit your edit/error via ServiceNow. Your ticket will be forwarded to the appropriate office for handling.

• If you are having an access issue with ASAP. Blackboard, etc. Submit an Application Access ticket
• If you encountered a website error or issue, submit a Website Issue ticket
• If you are encountered a website needing an edit, submit a Website Update ticket

If you are not affiliated with UTSA, submit your edit/error to techcafe@utsa.edu

How to get Access to Edit a UTSA Website

To explore receiving edit access for a UTSA website, contact the relevant Site Owner or VP Area Web Lead.

How to Create A New UTSA Website

Most new UTSA web pages should be created as “children” of an established website, using the same platform and template of the “parent” site. This includes all academic program websites.

For any new UTSA entity or initiative that does not have an existing site, follow the steps below.

• Faculty and college-based staff - forward to your request to your College Communications Lead
• Other Academic Affairs staff - forward your requests to Academic Strategic Communications (Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs staff should forward request to their relevant VP Area Web Leads)
• Staff in all other areas - forward your request to the VP Area Web Lead
• Students - contact getinvolved@utsa.edu for assistance with creating websites for UTSA student organizations.

New Site requests should include any information or thoughts you may have regarding:

• The site’s intended audience and purpose
• Justification for creating a stand-alone site (as opposed to creating a new child page within an existing site)
• Needed functionality (intake forms, directories, e-commerce, etc.)
• Intention to develop in-house vs. outsource
• Funding available to support the project (for outsourced design/development, tools, domain registration, etc.)
• Staff infrastructure in place for long-term management (site owner, content lead and technical lead)
• Timing consideration for site launch

College Communications Leads/VP Area Web Leads bring the new site request to relevant leadership within their areas (college Deans, division AVPs and/or vice presidents) for assessment regarding prioritization, and to determine if any funding/personnel resources can be dedicated to the site’s development.

Your College Communications Lead/Division Web Lead will consult with the relevant web team for recommendations on the site’s infrastructure components, including:

• CMS platform
• URL/domain
• Classification (official site, affiliated site or third-party site) and associated required global elements
• Placement within UTSA’s website architectural framework to maximize findability
• Whether the needs for a site can be effectively met through building a page within RowdyLink (i.e. for campus affinity groups and other organizations)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Lifecycle considerations

If any elements of the new site request do not align with the site requirements outlined in UTSA’s HOP 11.09, the Web Services Team will bring the request to the Website Steering Committee for further discussion. If needed, any issues needing resolution will be routed to the relevant Dean, Vice President or UTSA’s Senior Leadership Team for final decision, together with the committee’s recommendations.

Depending on a number of factors, new sites may either be built in-house or outsourced to a vendor for development. These factors may include:

• The web development infrastructure that exists within your division, and the current capacity for new projects
• The site’s anticipated size and complexity
• The site’s suitability for building within the university’s official CMS (Cascade)
• Staffing resources within your area for content development, testing, ongoing site management and end user training

If the new site is to be outsourced to a web vendor, follow the requirements as outlined in UTSA’s standard for Outsourced Website Development.

Note regarding academic program pages: Every UTSA academic program has an official page on the future.utsa.edu domain. The development of additional, independent academic program pages is not supported, due to a number of important factors. These include search engine optimization, consistency of content and brand, site security, and user experience considerations. Separate academic program pages housed within college/departmental sites are being phased out, and new independent academic program pages (including ones developed by outsourced third-party vendors) are not supported by the university.

How to Redevelop an Existing UTSA Website

If the site to be redeveloped meets any of the criteria listed below, follow the steps as outlined above for Creating a New UTSA Website.

• The site will move to a new CMS (other than migrating existing sites into Cascade CMS)
• The site will be outsourced to a web vendor for development
• The site will undergo a substantial redesign
• The site will change hosting environments

If you are unsure if your site will meet any of these criteria, or if you are simply looking for guidance regarding the best pathway to redevelop your site, contact the relevant web team for a consultation.

How to Request a New Domain

UTSA’s HOP 11.09 outlines the parameters for UTSA website domains.

UTSA.EDU Primary domain is required for all UTSA Official Websites, including the Home Page, Department Pages, College Pages, Faculty Profile Pages, Organizational Pages, and Research Pages

For assistance with any UTSA.EDU domain names, contact the University Marketing Web Services Team

Subdomains (for example, future.utsa.edu and provost.utsa.edu) may be established to recognize particular organizational entities, audiences, initiatives, or campaigns where there is a need for a distinct URL identity.

Non-UTSA.EDU domains (such as .org, .com, .net, .live, etc.) may be granted if the entity represented is supported by both a UTSA department/office as well as organization(s) external to UTSA.

To request a new subdomain or non-UTSA.EDU domain, contact your Division Web Lead or College Communications Lead

• Your Division Web Lead/College Communications Lead will bring the request to the Website Steering Committee for review and to ensure it meets the criteria outlined in HOP 11.09.

• If for any reason the Website Steering Committee feels the site does not qualify for a subdomain or non-UTSA.EDU domain per the HOP criteria, the request—together with the committee’s recommendation—will be routed to the relevant Dean or Vice President for final decision.

•  Once approved by the Web Steering Committee, non-UTSA.EDU domain names must be acquired and managed by the Web Services Team if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • UTSA funds are being used to purchase the domain name
  • The domain is for a site that will be administered by UTSA
  • The domain is for a site that will be hosted on a UTSA server