USU, OU Campus & You: A Winning Website Team
Utah State University uses OU Campus, a leader in higher education website content management, to provide website services for colleges, departments, and programs across campus.
We offer two free templates, with configurable navigation, banners, headers, content areas and footers. Each can be configured, within the USU Branding Guidelines, to meet the needs of any organization. Not only are the templates free to use, but OU Campus is also free to use. This means no monthly hosting fees.
On top of all that, USU OU Campus websites are easy for anyone to update and maintain. You also have the support of the IT Web Team when questions arise!
Getting Started
If your website isn't in OU Campus already, you begin by choosing the header option that best meets your needs. You can choose between Big Blue or Whiteout. (Some restrictions apply.) Once you've made your choice, or if you're not sure which choice is best for you, contact the IT Web Team. Once you've talked to the IT Web Team, we will set up your new site and train you in moving or adding content.
What Can You Do With Your Website?
Once you have your website in OU Campus, you have a variety of options for how to layout your content on the page. Not sure what your homepage should look like? Need to add a few columns? Want an image with a few columns of text? Need a button? Want to set up your directory and individual faculty pages? Want to set up your news feed and add it to your home page? Interested in adding Google analytics to track visitors to your page? Need an image or video gallery? Want to present your data in a table? Want to present your text in an accordion? Need help with your top or side navigation? Not sure if your webpages are accessible? Answers to these questions and many more can be found here!
You can add many of these layout pieces through snippets, or by copying and pasting the code provided on this website. We've even made it simple by providing Copy Source Code buttons.
At every step along the way you have the support of the IT Web Team. You can email pad@usu.edu or call (435) 797-8551 with your specific questions. You are not alone in presenting your message to website visitors. The IT Web Team is here to help!
OU Campus Training
NEWLY ADDED TRAINING: Website Analytics Training
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 from 10-11:30 am (SER 325)
Did you miss the initial analytics training? We've added another section just for you! Learn about what analytics can teach you about the effectiveness of your website content, the tools available from Google, and how to use them! Space is limited, register today!
Website Audits: How, What & Why to Check Your Website Pages
Led by our "Quality Assurance Queen," Chalyce Macdonald, come learn how, what and why you need to check your website pages each year. Learn ways to get and keep your website in tip-top shape for all website visitors and improve your search engine optimization (how to get your website pages found) in simple, straightforward ways, using the tools available to you in OU Campus.
OU Campus Fall Advanced Training
October 25, 2018 from 10-11:30 am (LIB 204)
Want to dive a little deeper into the features of OU Campus? Register to participate in our OU Campus Features Training. Topics include: Assets (image and video galleries, forms, reusable text content), snippets, .inc files, video embedding, design tips, quality control messages (how to read and understand them).
OU Campus Content Promoter for News Training
October 30, 2018 from 10-11:30 am (LIB 204)
Want to dive deeper into a new way you can organize your news to share your story with the world? Register for our Content Promoter for News training. Topics include: Tagging your news appropriately, pulling articles from outside sources into your news feed, pulling articles from other OU Campus websites, embedding your news feed on your home or other pages, using the create a .pdf option.
Doing More with Your Images Training
November 7, 2018 from 1:30-3 pm (LIB 204)
Want to learn how to do more with your images? Register to participate in our Doing More with Your Images Training. Topics include: Advanced Photoshop features, editing distractions from your photos, composition techniques, hands-on cropping, image strategies for storying telling.
Opt-in to OU Campus Users Email Group
To facilitate communication with OU Campus users, USU personnel with website responsibilities are invited to join the OU Campus Users email group. The email group list will be used sparingly to share:
- Training opportunities
- Updates and improvements to OU Campus at USU
- News impacting OU Campus use at USU
To join, send an empty email to Sympa (sympa@lists.usu.edu). If you send the email directly from your email account, rather than clicking on the link here, be sure to add the following as the subject line: sub ou-campus-users.
First Annual Website Review Complete
The IT Web Team completed the first annual review of USU websites inside OU Campus in summer 2018. College webmasters and/or website content managers have been emailed about the results of their particular website(s). The next step, which will begin in early 2019, is for specific website content managers to conduct their own review of their website pages to update and/or remove outdated content and ensure an accessible and usable experience for all website visitors. This process should occur annually. You can learn more about the purpose of the reviews, and the areas being reviewed.
Web Conference Follow-up
Presentation recordings and helpful resources from the 2018 USU Web Conference are available at the conference website. Plan now to attend the next year's USU Web Conference on May 23, 2019.
Tooltips and Quality Control Messages
To help improve accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO) across OU Campus websites, new tooltips and quality control messages are now in use across OU Campus webpages. You can learn more about these tools at our tooltips and quality control message information page.