Do you need to build a website for a department, project, course or yourself? We offer Google Sites and WordPress. Read on to find out which tool to use and where to locate help resources for each one.
Note: Moodle, as the college’s Learning Management System (LMS), is the appropriate platform for most course materials. More information about Moodle.
Who can use this tool?
- MHC faculty
- MHC staff
- MHC students
Why use this tool?
Google Sites is the appropriate home for many people with a small or moderate amount of content to display on their web site.
Choosing Google Sites provides the following advantages:
- Quick and easy setup from basic templates
- Easily add or embed documents and images from your Google Drive
- Share your site with viewers and editors both inside and outside the College
A Google Site created with your MHC account will have a web address of the following style: sites.google.com/mtholyoke.edu/[your site name here]
Where can you access it?
Where to find help?
Who can use this tool?
- MHC faculty
- MHC staff
- MHC students and cross-registered Five College students
Why use this tool?
The Mount Holyoke community can build sites on the Commons, our WordPress instance. WordPress is a more complex tool than Google Sites. It offers additional features for categorizing and displaying your web content. We recommend the use of WordPress (by the creation of a site on the Commons) for people who are willing to invest some more time learning the ins and outs of the tool, or who are already familiar with WordPress.
Choosing WordPress provides the following advantages:
- Control your formatting and menu design with themes
- Create, sort and organize numerous pages
- Add blog posts, if desired
- Organize blog posts with categories and tags
- Allow commenting, if desired
- Use H5P interactive objects, and other approved plugins
A WordPress site created on the Commons will have a web address of the following style: commons.mtholyoke.edu/[your site name here]
Where can you access it?
Where to find help?
Legacy Web Project
In preparation for the launch of the new Mount Holyoke website in March 2022, LITS and the Communications department are working together to transition content from old web spaces to new platforms. See below for more information.
In March 2022, the College plans to launch a new website that will be a vibrant and engaging public-facing tool for prospective students and their families.
The current website has historically hosted individual and course web spaces for faculty, staff and students. A narrower focus and audience means that content created by and/or meant for current community members must transition to another location and platform. Please note that personal sites with content unrelated to the College will no longer be supported. LITS project leaders worked with College Relations and the office of the Dean of Faculty, met with the LITS Advisory Committee, and engaged the Internal Communications Governance Group for this transition.
LITS offers and supports several platforms for current Mount Holyoke community members.
- For individuals with academic, research, or otherwise College-related content:
- For course content:
- Moodle continues to be the recommended and supported platform for course content and sites.
- For administrative office and departmental content:
Individual HTML sites were an option when other platforms were not as robust and fully featured as they are now. With the switch to a new, more narrowly focused college website, continuing to provide HTML hosting would require re-creating a new service with new infrastructure and support. LITS recognizes that a select number of community members use and value HTML pages on Mount Holyoke provided space, but we believe that the solutions offered above will meet the majority of needs.
Please see the FAQ section of this site for more information on commonly asked questions.
Faculty with individual and/or course sites affected by the Legacy Web Project were contacted by LITS with guidance on next steps. Faculty sites will be disabled on December 13, 2021. This timeline allows content owners several months to seek support and migrate their materials.
LITS staff are here to share resources and help faculty content owners explore the functionality of available platforms. For assistance with academic content migration, please contact the Educational Technology team (edtech@mtholyoke.edu or appointment form). Faculty who need to plan for students who receive extensions and will need access to HTML content beyond the end of the semester should reach out to Chrissa Lindahl, Director of Research and Instructional Support.
Faculty who do not need their content migrated to a new space, but would like help accessing and/or archiving their content, please fill out the Access and Delete Content form. You can also use this form to approve your content for removal.
Faculty FAQS
What if HTML sites are important for my work as a faculty member of the college?
LITS encourages you to schedule a consultation with the Educational Technology team (edtech@mtholyoke.edu) to explore functionality of the supported options so we can best meet your needs. If HTML sites are critical for your work, LITS will refer you to outside tools.
Why is the deadline for faculty December 13th?
This deadline allows for current content to remain available through the fall semester and provides several months for users to migrate content, with support from LITS staff, before the winter break. If access to essential class materials is needed beyond the deadline for potential student course extensions, please contact Chrissa Lindahl, Director of Research and Instructional Support.
What is Wordpress, and what do you mean by “the Commons”?
Wordpress is an open source website creation platform. Mount Holyoke College has its own instance of Wordpress, known as the Commons. The Commons is hosted by MHC and provides everything you need to build your site, including the official “mtholyoke.edu” as part of your custom URL. There is no need to create a personal Wordpress account or seek out paid plans, simply login with your MHC credentials via commons.mtholyoke.edu.
Is there support available for faculty moving academic content unrelated to courses, such as research content?
Absolutely! If you have questions about academic content unrelated to courses, the Educational Technology team is able to assist you. If they don't have the right expertise for your content, they’ll connect you with the appropriate staff in LITS to answer your question. Make an appointment with the Educational Technology team or email edtech@mtholyoke.edu.
Staff personal sites will be disabled as of January 10, 2022. Staff with sites affected by the Legacy Web Project were contacted by LITS with further guidance.
Impacted links will begin in the following manner: www.mtholyoke.edu/~USERNAME
If you want to download the content for your records: Follow the instructions on How to Map a Network Drive to access network spaces and download files.
If the content in your webspace can be removed OR if you need help retrieving your files: Please complete the Access and Delete Content form as soon as possible to approve your content for removal and/or request assistance accessing your files.
Continue reading for more information on LITS' recommended edits for your department's internal-facing content and what to expect throughout the migration process.
What are the content recommendations based on?
LITS examined content from the most basic user perspective - someone who is brand new to the College and doesn’t know anything about your office. All recommendations are made in the interest of creating sustainable, user-friendly content as described in the Content Management Guidelines.
These recommendations are suggestions. If you disagree with anything, it’s not set in stone. As content manager, how you want to present the information is ultimately your decision.
How will my department's web content be edited and moved to another platform?
As content manager, you are responsible for the editing and migration of content (as well as maintaining your internal content moving forward). Any content left on the external site will continue to be managed by Communications. Request edits to your external content by submitting a request via the form located on Communications’ my.mtholyoke page.
These recommendations are organized according to current site structure - does that mean I should recreate the same pages on a new platform?
No - in many cases, LITS specifically suggested changes to site structure and organization. Even if the recommendations don’t mention rearranging content, if you feel like your audience(s) would be better served by a reorganized site, you have the freedom to do so as content manager. By all means, use this opportunity to clean up and refresh your content as much as possible.
When am I supposed to move my content?
Content moving to my.mtholyoke: If you are not a SharePoint Contributor and do not have an active page in my.mtholyoke yet, our team is working on getting you set up. You’ll hear from LITS again as soon as your site is ready to be built. In the meantime, work on prepping your content based on our personalized recommendations and the Content Management Guidelines.
Content moving to Commons/Google Sites: Please move your content at your earliest convenience. If you aren't available to migrate content ahead of the new website launch (January 2022), reach out to Katie Quigley.
Are there support resources and SharePoint training opportunities?
Yes. LITS is currently updating SharePoint support materials and planning training sessions, as well as drop-in hours. We will reach out when support materials and training opportunities are available.
Anything else I should know?
Every URL on the Mount Holyoke website will change when the new website launches. This means any link to an MHC page on your site will need to be updated when the time comes. Links on the external site will be taken care of by Communications, but updating any links in your internal content will be your responsibility.