Work continues on the Web template revisions but it now looks like the earliest they will be available is mid-July. A large number of new site identifier and sidebar graphics have been created, the guidelines have been revised, and development on the new Template Designer and CSS is moving forward well.
We have been seeking ways to improve the delivery reliability of the central CSS, images, and JavaScript and have a solution in development. The solution involves a caching application that can reside on each unit’s local server. The central template components will automatically be cached from the central source to the local server. A unit’s Web sites can then point to the local server rather than the central server to obtain the central template components. Any downtime of the central server will not impact the display of a Web page as long as the cache on the local server is available. Central management of the central components is still maintained. We think it is a real win/win solution.
Real-world testing of the caching system will begin in late July. The plan is to release it before classes begin in August. If you would like more details regarding the caching application, contact Ed Sala in University Publishing at sala@wsu.edu or 335-3518.
You can choose to implement the new templates as soon as they are available without the caching application or wait until the caching system is available to update your sites. Once the caching application is installed on your local server, you will only need to change a URL in your pages’ code to point to your local server rather than the central server.