Marketing and Communication

One UQ Web Roadmap Program

UQ has committed to the one UQ Web Roadmap Program, aimed at creating a greatly improved user experience for everyone who interacts with our external web channel.

Part of this means a consolidated information architecture and navigational structure, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of websites UQ presents.

Ultimately, this benefits customers who will be able to access UQ information and services through a single website experience – that is, a consistent look-

and-feel and page layouts for related content, and shared navigation – and by reducing the risk of out-of-date and conflicting content.

Governance

The One UQ Web Roadmap is governed by the Digital Presence Procedure and associated standards. Read more about the:

Digital Presence Procedures [6.20.05] Information architecture standard Domains and web addresses standard

Timeline

There is a rolling program of work targeting the following high-level sites at the following times:

  • Study – Completed in 2023
  • Research – underway, completing mid-2024
  • News – starting late-2023, completing late-2024

As we progress through this program of work, many existing sites will need to be consolidated, forming part of these greater sites. We are including the ability to share stories, news and events, scholarships and other key content between what are currently separate, siloed sites.

This will benefit content owners by:

  • improving the SEO (search engine optimisation)
  • improving the discoverability of content
  • ensuring access to new functionality as it is developed
  • providing an improved experience for site publishers, with the new content management system being easier to use.

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, new websites are not being approved. If you want to discuss a website request, contact the Websites Channel Team – we'll work with you to help achieve specific goals within the possibilities of current infrastructure. 

Phase 1

An overview of the Phase 1 changes scheduled for release on 22 and 23 June includes:

  • redesigned homepage and level 1 landing pages (Study, Research, Partners & Community and About) 
  • new navigation structure 
  • new secondary and primary header links 
  • new mega menu: Under each primary link will be a mega menu, which will show everything at a glance in that section 
  • new footer 
  • new webpages to fill existing content gaps. 

Some of these changes are illustrated below: 

Header / navigation

Research Website Updates

Research websites are being uplifted to be more accessible and to create a platform that showcases UQ's research capability as a top research university. Key improvements include the separation of information to make a clearer distinction between content for internal and external audiences .

We interviewed users to understand what they were looking for and tested new content to ensure a better user experience.

Research Support website (internal focus)

On 1 March, the migration of content from the old Research website (uq.edu.au/research) to the new Research Support site (research-support.uq.edu.au) was completed.  Content on this site is internally focused, primarily for UQ staff, students, and researchers.

UQ Experts website (external focus)

Researchers.uq.edu.au will be uplifted to UQ Experts (about.uq.edu.au/experts), expected in late May ‘24. This externally focused website will be lifted into the top-level ‘About’ site in the UQ website architecture. It will have improved usability, a modern interface that’s consistent with UQ’s brand, and a redesigned search and browse experience to improve profile findability.

Expert profiles (formerly called ‘Researcher profiles’) have been redesigned and restructured to better support key tasks for priority audiences. We’ve also developed an Experts profile user guide to support researchers to take advantage of the new design to create search and media friendly profiles.

As part of the redesign of the UQ Experts website, your availability for supervision will be more prominent. Please make sure this is correct in the Academic Portal before the May launch as prospective HDR students use this to identify potential supervisors.

We’re now using the term ‘experts’ to refer to researchers. Experts can include researchers, academics, and teaching staff. Over time you will see our websites, internal documentation and other communications use the term ‘experts’.

Research website (external focus)

Soon we will release the remaining public-facing research content on research.uq.edu.au. Joining existing content about Research Partnerships, and landing pages covering key internal topics (e.g. Ethics) will provide a high-level outline for reputation and accountability, linking to internal sites where relevant. This site is currently in development and expected to launch in mid-2024.

Governance

New governance arrangements for website management and maintenance will apply to the new sites, aligning with the overarching web governance requirements outlined in the Digital Presence Procedure. The Office of the DVCRI will be the product owner of the new sites, with Mark Witham, as the Digital Presence Coordinator responsible for day-to-day management.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the One UQ Web Roadmap program, contact the Websites Channel team.