Below are some questions we've received about the upcoming Web Express migration. If you have a question that is not addressed below, please email websupport@colorado.edu
Automatic Migration vs Manual Rebuild
Yes. Just resubmit theÌýSelect a Migration Path formÌýand make sure you check the box for updating your decision.
An automatic migration would be the best choice for a site where:
- Your content is up to date
- Your site strategy is working
- Your team has limited bandwidth to rebuild the site
Note: Even if you choose an automatic migration, there may be elements or pages you need to update.
An manual rebuildÌýwould be the best choice for a site where:
- The site is older and has a lot of outdated content
- You want to make big changes to your website design and strategy
- Your business needs have changed and your site isn't aligned with those new goals
Note: sites for manual rebuilds were issued in June and must be completed by Oct.Ìý30.
Scheduling
Sites that choose an automatic migration were placed into migration windows and notified of which window in July. If that window doesn't work for you, we can reschedule the migration to a different window. Migration windows began in August and are estimated to end November 22.
No. Once we're ready to swap the old site with the new site, the change will be quick and visitors will experience no downtime.
Migrated sites are planned to go live on the Thursday of the second week of your migration window, unless an extension is requested. You will need to submit this status form by 11am MT on the Wednesday of your second week letting us know if you’re ready to launch or if you need to request a one-week extension.
If you do not submit the form, your site will automatically fall into the launch path and will launch on Thursdays.
Launch windows begin at noon MT on Thursdays and go for 24 hours. Your site will launch at some point during this window. There will be no downtime for end users.
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If it’s the WednesdayÌýat 11am before your migration window: Yes! You must have a business need in order to reschedule, and you can submit a request through this form.
If it’s after the WednesdayÌýat 11am before your window: No, unfortunately we have already moved sites for this cohort into the mitigation process.
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General Questions
No. During the site's migration window, users will be locked from logging in and making any changes to the site. Site owners have the opportunity to make some edits to their new site before it launches; we are estimating this to be a 5-7 day window.
Training sites and documentation for the new version of Web Express are now available. You can find more information on training options on the web express website.
All published and unpublished content will be migrated. If there's content you no longer need on the site, please delete it before your migration window.
All active users with an assigned role will be migrated to the new site. If there are users on your site that shouldn't be migrated, you can cancel or block their accounts.
If a site chooses an automatic migration, we will migrate:
- All content pages (basic pages, articles, people, forms, etc.)
- All content blocks (all blocks that include content, such as text blocks, article lists, events, heros).Ìý
- Layout blocks, such as block row, block wrapper, responsive visibility will not be migrated.
- All files/images
- All active users with a role
There are some advanced conditionals that are no longer available in the new version of Web Express. ÌýThese conditionals are ones where you can set a value of a form field based on the value of another form field. ÌýAll fields on the form will migrate, but if a form uses these conditionals, the conditionals will not be migrated.
Conditionals that reveal or hide additional fields based on the value of another form field are still supported and will be migrated.
Simple layouts using the Edit Layout functionality on Basic Pages are the only layouts that will be migrated.
Nested blocks are blocks that allow you to make references to other blocks and nest them inside each other. ÌýWe made use of this functionality in order to build advanced layouts on a page but they are no longer needed as the new page layout builder provides better ways to do this.
Because some of these old layout blocks are no longer needed and don't exist in the new version of Web Express, extensive use of these may mean you have pages that won't completely migrate.
All content blocks will be migrated, but some blocks may need to be added back to pages after the site has been migrated.
You can review these types of blocks by visiting the block overview page - click Express in the blue toolbar, Content in the white tool bar, then click the Blocks tab. From here you can filter your blocks by the various types.
The block types you should be looking at are:
- Expandables that reference other blocks
- Responsive Visibility
- Block Wrapper
Context will not be a feature in the new version of Web Express. ÌýThere will be new ways to place blocks on individual pages, sections of pages, or sitewide, but will require you to re-add these blocks using these new methods after migration.
Using context to make content, such as articles, appear under a particular menu item is not functionality we have support for in the new Web Express.
Even if there are blocks that are added to pages in a way that won't migrate, either via context, nested blocks, or a region that won't be migrated, the content blocks themselves will still be copied over to the new site and will need to be re-added to the pages after the initial migration.
If your site contains some of the elements we've identified that will not completely migrate, your site may appear incomplete after migration.
Examples
- Expandables that reference other blocks will be added to the page but the contents of them will be empty. Expandables will not be able to embed other blocks so it is recommended to plan other ways to display that content.
- If you used context to place blocks on your site, blocks will need to be re-added after your pages has been migrated.
- If your site's forms include conditionals which set values of other fields, the forms and all the fields will be migrated but those particular conditionals will be missing.
- If you have blocks in sidebar regions (sidebar left/right, content sidebar left/right),Ìýblocks will need to be re-added after your pages has been migrated.
There is an option to remove the site on theÌýSelect a Migration Path form.
Choose the "manual site rebuild" option on theÌýSelect a Migration Path formÌýand a new empty site will be provided to you in June.
The old Web Express site will still be available for a limited amount of time after your new site has launched (estimated to be available until December 2024). We can provide a static HTML version of the site to you for archival purposes upon request.
The Web Express platform has more than 1,000 live sites, and it is not possible for our small team to provide help in rebuilding or updating sites. We will be providing recommendations on how to rebuild/restructure site content that may not fully migrate.
Just submit the launch/extension form by 11am MT on Wednesday (either on week 2 of your migration window or subsequent weeks if you’ve requested extensions), and we will take care of the rest. We will email you once the transition is complete and your new site is live.
If you are not ready to make your new site live on the planned Thursday of the second week of your migration window, you are able to add up to 3 extensions in one week increments.Ìý
To request an additional week, submit the status form. Please note that your current live site will continue to be locked for content edits while you are making changes to your new site, so it is important to not unnecessarily extend your editing period.Ìý
When requesting extensions, they will come in one week increments, and you will have until 11am MT the following Wednesday to request another extension (max of 3 total) or submit your site for launch.Ìý
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Each cohort has a resource information page designed specifically for them. You can find our cohort support pages here.