Web Toolkit
The Web Toolkit was created in 2004 as part of a site-wide rebranding effort for Case Western Reserve University. In 2007 I rewrote and expanded the toolkit as part of a new rebranding strategy to launch a new logo. The university is currently phasing in new designs created in 2008 that will replace those found here.
Toolkit home page
Toolkit templates page
Web Toolkit goal
The Web Toolkit was created to provide guidelines and HTML template files for campus Web maintainers to use when creating university Web sites. The site was meant to help Webmasters—of varying skill levels—implement brand-compliant sites that provided a consistent navigational experience for users.
2007 Redeployment Strategy
The launch of the new logo in 2007 gave me the opportunity to completely rebuild the Web Toolkit based on user feedback over the previous three years. While I had been using a CSS based design for my own projects, the templates used a table-based layout meant to accomodate users with less-advanced skills.
Given the wide-spread deployment of the existing templates, I needed to keep the table-based layouts to ensure backwards compatibility, but I was also able to stream-line the code so that users no longer had to adhere to specific style classes for commonly used elements. Doing it this way ensured that a Webmaster could incorporate a stylesheet or HTML file from the new templates without worry that it would break the rest of the site. Users wanting full CSS layouts were given copies of my own files on an as needed basis.
Toolkit Features
The Web Toolkit contains all the files and instructions a Webmaster would need to create a site in the 2007 design. Such tools include:
- About the Templates
- This section featured instructions and descriptions of design features including banner, navigation, content and footer elements with illustrations and a color chart.
- HTML & CSS Files
- The 2007 design featured 2 site styles available in 11 color schemes. Each option included 5 HTML pages allowing different formats for home pages and variations for interior pages as well as accompanying CSS files. For convenience I offered each color/design option as a complete .zip package while also making files available as individual downloads. The files were designed to adhere to W3C Web standards and Section 508 accessibility while offering logically semantic mark-up and easy implementation of search engine optimization. This simple structure also ensured sites worked equally well in differing browsers.
- Graphics
- A sampling of logo files and university photographs (including some that I had shot) to be used in banners and home pages were made available for departments without their own images. I also provided instructions and a master photoshop file for users who wished to create custom banner images.
Toolkit Success
The toolkit gained widespread adoption in the original 2004 launch with additional sites being added over time. This provided a consistent look for most university sites while also providing the customization necessary for each department to retain a sense of uniqueness. The HTML files were fully editable—allowing users to tinker more than they could with a content management system—but overall the deployment was surprisingly consistent.
It was not unusual for me to get calls and emails from Webmasters at other universities asking what Content Management System we had deployed to make this possible. What really made it work was two-fold. The initial redesign was mandated by the Office of the President in 2004 and the files were relatively easy to implement by users with a basic understanding of HTML and Dreamweaver. The 2007 refinements, coupled with tutorials and advice offered on the Web Development blog made the system even easier.
