We work with colleges and universities on complex, content-rich websites that need to serve multiple audiences, support distributed teams, and integrate with institutional systems.
Higher education environments have unique challenges. Prospective students, current students, faculty, staff, and alumni all rely on the same platform, but approach it with very different needs. Content is often managed across departments, accessibility is a requirement, and systems need to stay connected across the institution.
We focus on helping institutions navigate that complexity and build platforms that are sustainable over time.
Where We Help
We support higher education organizations in a few key areas:
- Website redesign and platform modernization
- User experience and information architecture
- Accessibility and WCAG compliance
- Integration with campus systems and APIs
- Ongoing improvements to structure, navigation, and content
If you are planning a major project, you can learn more about our approach to redesigning university websites.
If you are focused on improving structure and usability, see how we approach higher education web design project.
Built for Complex Environments
Our work is centered on making complex systems easier to use and manage.
That includes:
- Structuring content so users can find what they need
- Supporting distributed content ownership across departments
- Designing systems that remain consistent as they scale
- Integrating with underlying campus systems to reduce duplication
We approach these challenges as interconnected problems, rather than isolated features.
Platforms and Systems
We work in both Drupal and WordPress, selecting the platform based on the needs of the institution.
- Drupal is often well suited for large, structured environments
- WordPress can be effective where flexibility and ease of use are priorities
We also support search and content discovery across large sites, including implementations using Algolia.
Accessibility
Accessibility is a core requirement in higher education. We incorporate WCAG standards throughout the design and development process, helping institutions improve usability while meeting compliance requirements.
Experience in Higher Education
We have spent over a decade working with institutions including UC Berkeley, UCSF, Seattle University, Cornish College of the Arts, Viterbo University, and other colleges and universities.
This experience informs how we approach governance, systems, and long-term sustainability.
Frequently asked questions
What CMS do most universities use?
Drupal is the most widely adopted CMS in higher education because it handles departmental sub-sites, granular permissions, and strict accessibility requirements. WordPress is common for individual departments and labs. We build both and have migrated campuses from proprietary platforms to each.
How do you handle dozens of departments editing one site?
With structured content and real editorial governance: role-based permissions, shared design components departments cannot break, and workflows for review where needed. The goal is local autonomy inside a consistent, accessible system - which is exactly what modern Drupal is built for.
Do university websites have to be accessible?
Yes. Public institutions are covered by the ADA and Section 508, and the Department of Justice's 2024 rule sets WCAG 2.1 AA as the explicit standard for public entities. Beyond compliance, accessible sites serve every prospective student better - and we build to AA as our default.
Can you migrate our site without breaking thousands of links?
Yes. Higher-ed migrations are our specialty: content is migrated programmatically, every legacy URL is redirected, and search rankings carry over. Our UC Berkeley College of Computing migration moved a full division site onto Drupal without losing its search presence.
Is open source right for a university website?
Yes. Open-source platforms like Drupal and WordPress dominate higher education because there are no license fees, no vendor lock-in, and the security and accessibility work is shared across a global community that includes many universities. Procurement teams also appreciate that the institution owns everything outright.
