The document discusses establishing WordPress as a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for Georgia Tech faculty, staff, and campus needs. It outlines a plan to develop a Professional Web Presence (PWP) that provides a standardized, easy-to-use website creation service using WordPress. The plan involves researching existing solutions, determining an appropriate hosting option, identifying target user groups, developing an initial system iteration, obtaining user feedback, and continually improving the system based on that feedback. Initial usage statistics and next steps are also presented.

1. Professional Web Presence
Establishing WordPress as a SaaS for
faculty, staff, and campus needs.

4. Eric Scott Sembrat
Web Manager at College of Engineering
Georgia Tech Graduate (’09 CS)
~4 Years in USG Institutions
Graduate Student at Georgia State University

5. Live Tweet & Ask Questions
Use #SembratSays or mention @esembrat
to ask a question or provide feedback!
Not a tweeter? Contact info available at:
http://www/webbeh.com

6. Live Tweet & Ask Questions
Use #SembratSays or mention @esembrat
to ask a question or provide feedback!
Not a tweeter? Contact info available at:
http://www/webbeh.com

8. Webon
campus

9. Overviewof web
trends

10. Overviewof web
trends

11. Overviewof web
trends

12. Overviewof web
trends

13. Overviewof web
trends

14. Overviewof web
trends

15. Overviewof web
trends

16. Webis not
created
equal…

17. 5examples

18. 1

19. 1

20. 2

21. 2

22. 3

23. 3

24. 4

25. 4

26. 5

27. 5

29. A lot of Georgia Tech’s smaller
websites are being left behind
in the Redesign Process.

30. Why?left behind

31. One
Georgia Tech

32. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech

33. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content

34. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing

35. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives

36. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives
Facilities
Auxiliary Services
Student Services
Laboratories &
Research Groups
GT Research
Institute
Special Events
Websites

37. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives
Facilities
Auxiliary Services
Student Services
Laboratories &
Research Groups
GT Research
Institute
Special Events
Websites
School,Department,andCourseWebsiteswithinEachCollege

38. Institute
Communications
One
Georgia Tech
Front Page
Administration &
Finance
Top Level
Content
College of
Sciences
College of
Engineering
College of
Business
College of
Architecture
IAC College of
Liberal Arts
College of
Computing Internal Staff/
Faculty Websites
Georgia Tech
Alumni Assoc.
New Websites &
Initiatives
Facilities
Auxiliary Services
Student Services
Laboratories &
Research Groups
GT Research
Institute
Special Events
Websites
School,Department,andCourseWebsiteswithinEachCollege

39. common?
what do these areas have in

42. Steep technical learning curve.
Development, setup, maintenance, security, and
more. Too many hats to wear.

43. Steep technical learning curve.
Development, setup, maintenance, security, and
more. Too many hats to wear.
Turnover, knowledge
loss, & apathy.
Work required to build out a
website matching requirements
exceeds capability, staff, or
available time.

44. solutionsto this
issue?

45. fix?
so, is there a

46. fix?
so, is there a
YES
of course!

47. SaaS
finding peace with

48. SaaS
Software
As A
Service

49. SaaS
Software
As A
Service

50. SaaS
Software
As A
Service

51. SaaS
Software
As A
Service

52. SaaS
Software
As A
Service

53. SaaS
Software
As A
Service

56. 1 place to update,
maintain.
All websites procure themes,
plugins, configuration from a single
service instance.

57. 1 place to update,
maintain.
All websites procure themes,
plugins, configuration from a single
service instance.
Sanity Checks.
Custom development, coding,
and overrides are not permitted.

59. professionalweb
presence

60. PWP
let’s talk about

61. goal.giving faculty &
staff a brochure-
ware service for
creating Georgia
Tech websites.

62. 3steps to
determine
the project
scope.

63. 1

64. 1

65. 1
Search the web for
solutions.
What is higher ed doing? What is
the rest of the industry doing?
What works? What doesn’t?

66. 1

67. 1

68. 1
WordPress

69. 1
WordPress
Drupal
Multisite

70. 1
WordPress
Drupal
Multisite
OpenScholar

71. 1
WordPress
Drupal
Multisite
OpenScholarWordPress

72. 1
WordPress
Drupal
Multisite
OpenScholarWordPress

73. 1
WordPress
Drupal
Multisite
OpenScholarWordPress

74. 1
WordPress
Drupal
Multisite
OpenScholarWordPress

75. 2

76. 2

77. 2
Find the best way to
host.
Go to the cloud? Host internally?
Send via carrier pigeons? Find
what is scalable for your solution.

78. 3

79. 3

80. 3
Who should this
project target?
What audiences should PWP
cover? What should our goals be?
What determines if this works?

81. 3

82. 3
Students
Grad Students
Researchers
Faculty
Staff

83. 3
Students
Grad Students
Researchers
Faculty
Staff

84. ourbuild out

87. Step 1. Develop (first)
Iteration of System
Install system, enable plugins, and
create custom plugins and themes
for campus-specific usage.

90. Step 2. Give System to
Expert Users
Consult Subject Matter Experts
(SMEs) and let them play with the
system. Encourage creativity.

93. Step 3. Obtain
Feedback.
Learn from the SMEs what worked,
what didn’t, and what was
confusing. Take notes!

96. Step 4. Reiterate.
Loop back to Step 1 once changes
are in place, and try again.
Continue until satisfied with
project status.

97. timeline
let’s look at
the

98. august 2014
Determine Platform
Research systems by ease-of-use, scalability, and
maintainability.
Look at End Users
Is anyone using a service or application already? If so,
why?
Look at Peers
See what others are already doing. Imitation is the
most sincere form of flattery, after all.

99. november 2014
Install Plugins & Tools
Locate themes, plugins, and configurations ideal for
an initial rollout.
Build Custom GT Configuration
Begin branding of features to match Georgia Tech
standards and recommendations.
Test Initial System
See what works and what doesn’t. Locate problem
areas before they arise.

100. january 2015
Bring on Test Users
Bring in SMEs and testers to start using the service.
Monitor what/how they use the service.
Document… EVERYTHING.
Begin to provide documentation to detail most widely
used aspects of the system.

102. may 2015
Open Pilot
Expand service to an open pilot - allow those
interested to test-run the service.
Advertise
Get the word out - listservs, articles, discussions,
meetings, social chats.

107. august 2015
Open Service
Open the floodgates to any faculty or staff member
interested in demoing the service.
Training & Workshops
Initialize large-scale trainings and workshops for on-
boarding faculty and staff.

110. numbers
everyone
loves

111. 217active PWP
websites.

112. 332active PWP
users on
campus.

113. 6monthly
help-desk
sessions
completed.

114. 3administrators
managing PWP.

115. 3months as a
full service on
campus.

116. 2campus/school
tour stops
completed.

117. next?
so, what’s

121. always advancing…
Expand Theme Configuration
Continue to expand and refine the Georgia Tech theme
per WordPress updates and best practices.
Plugins
Add new plugins (custom and contributed) for
campus needs.

122. pwp!
here’s to you,

123. pwp!
here’s to you,

124. http://deanmay.gatech.edu

125. http://ocleger.modlangs.gatech.edu/

126. http://singh.hsoc.gatech.edu/

127. http://rosenberger.spp.gatech.edu/

128. http://pwp.gatech.edu/rburnett/

129. http://stanley.gatech.edu/

130. http://hfes.gatech.edu/

131. http://inventionstudio.gatech.edu/

132. http://dpl.gatech.edu/

133. http://gwei.gatech.edu/

134. http://pwp.gatech.edu/gtresearchcomm/

135. http://frontiersinscience.gatech.edu/

136. http://inventurechallenge.gatech.edu/

137. pwp!
here’s to you,
Questions?

138. pwp!
here’s to you,
Questions?