Web Authoring at Colby

All web pages at Colby fall under one of the following three categories:

Many department and club sites have been moved into CommonSpot, although several sites remain in the old format.  Any new sites requested will be created in CommonSpot.  If you are requesting access to a CommonSpot site, keep in mind that you will need to have CommonSpot training with ITS before final access will be granted.  You should submit the form to request access and when you have heard back from us, then request a training session.

Request Access or Training

** If you are requesting access to a CommonSpot site and have not had training by ITS, you must arrange a training session before final access will be granted.  After you submit the request form and have heard back from us, click the link below to arrange a training session.

 
CommonSpot

 

In the fall of 2004, Colby purchased and installed a new web content management software called CommonSpot.  Launching a redesigned Colby web site in CommonSpot was a joint project between ITS and Communications.  ITS installed and configured the software and web servers, while Communications created the new design for Colby's web site. Pages using the new design have the distinctive blue background and header. 

 

There are several advantages of moving a department site into CommonSpot :

  • Users can create and update pages without having to know HTML, Dreamweaver or other software used to create web pages. 
  • Authoring and updating web pages is done through a browser and can be done anywhere there is Internet access.
  • A revision control feature saves every version of a page and allows users to easily revert to a previous version of a page.
  • A department can designate multiple people to make changes. 
  • Pages throughout your site can have a consistent look.  Templates can be created for this purpose, or features within CommonSpot can create a table of contents for your site.
  • Page data and pending changes are stored in a database that is backed up regularly.
  • An approval process can be set up, requring a designated person within the department to approve any changes before the page can be published.

All of Colby’s major administrative sites have been migrated to CommonSpot and any new sites will be automatically created within CommonSpot.  Instructions pages for creating web pages within CommonSpot can be found here.  Before you can create or edit pages, you will need to complete an introductory CommonSpot tutorial. Please contact the Technical Training Center to schedule this training.

 

We are in the process of converting academic and department sites to CommonSpot. There is migration and training support for this process. If you would like to begin the process of converting your current department site, please contact Cathy Langlais.  If you would like to create course pages or Forums within CommonSpot, please contact the Technical Training Center. 

 

If your site is not within CommonSpot and you wish to make changes to it, support and training are limited. 

 
Department or Club Non-CommonSpot Pages

 

If your site is not within CommonSpot (no distinctive blue border around the page), you will need to know html, Dreamweaver, or have some other software to maintain the code behind these pages.  ITS offers basic training in html and Dreamweaver.  Contact Mel Regnell to arrange training.  Please note that if you do not already have access to the site you wish to maintain, you must request access before you can be trained. 

 

Once you have created your pages and you are ready to upload the documents to the web site, you will need to transfer the files from your work station to the web server. MAC users will use either FUGU or Fetch, Windows users will use an FTP program such as SSH Secure File Transfer Client (preferred) or WS-FTP.  Please use the links below for more information on transferring files.

 
Personal Pages

Current Colby students, staff and faculty can publish their own materials on Colby's web server.  Everyone is allocated 10 MB of server space.  To request your personal web directory, click  here.    Once you have created your pages and you are ready to upload the documents to your personal web site, you will need to transfer the files from your work station to the web server.  MAC users will use either FUGU or Fetch, Windows users will use an FTP program such as SSH Secure File Transfer Client (preferred) or WS-FTP.