2025-05-17 –, Fab8.B 203
Language: English
In the digital era, universities face increasing challenges in managing complex content structures, integrating internal systems, and ensuring a seamless experience for students, faculty, and researchers. The University of Luxembourg’s website transformation project serves as a prime case study of how a research university can leverage open-source technologies like WordPress to build a scalable, flexible, and efficient platform.
This talk will explore five key learnings from Unilux’s digital transformation, highlighting how universities and large institutions can successfully migrate fragmented content, enhance governance, and integrate diverse services while prioritizing security, performance, and user experience.
Key Takeaways (5 Learnings):
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Centralizing a Decentralized Content Ecosystem
a: Challenge: Unilux had a fragmented content landscape with 33+ satellite websites across multiple platforms.
b: Solution: A centralized WordPress Multisite with a unified design system allowed faculties to retain autonomy while ensuring brand consistency.
c: Lesson: Decentralized institutions need centralized governance without losing editorial flexibility. -
Scalable Multilingual Content Management
a: Challenge: Supporting multilingual content across three official languages while ensuring efficient search and discovery.
b: Solution: A structured multilingual content strategy combined with an intelligent search system enabled seamless navigation for students and researchers.
c: Lesson: Multilingual content should be considered from the start to ensure better editorial workflows and accessibility. -
Seamless System Integrations for a Better User Experience
a: Challenge: Unilux’s study program data and faculty profiles were siloed in different internal systems.
b: Solution: By integrating key services into the new platform, students and faculty could access all relevant information in one place, reducing manual effort and administrative complexity.
c: Lesson: Universities benefit most from integrated digital ecosystems that simplify access to essential services and resources. -
Future-Proofing Content with an Open and Modular Architecture
a: Challenge: Previous systems suffered from technical debt and lack of adaptability.
b: Solution: A modular content structure using a component-based block editor allowed for reusable content across departments, improving long-term scalability.
c: Lesson: A modular approach enhances flexibility, reduces maintenance overhead, and extends the lifespan of the platform. -
User-Centric Design and Governance for Better Adoption
a: Challenge: A lack of editorial oversight led to inconsistencies and security risks, such as unauthorized content uploads.
b: Solution: Implementing role-based workflows and governance policies ensured content quality, security, and accountability across all faculties.
c: Lesson: Universities need well-defined editorial workflows and security measures to maintain a sustainable digital presence.
Conclusion:
The Unilux project highlights the power of open-source solutions in addressing the complexities of higher education digital platforms. By leveraging WordPress as a scalable Digital Experience Platform (DXP), universities can achieve centralized governance, seamless integrations, and long-term sustainability.
This case study serves as a blueprint for other institutions looking to modernize their digital infrastructure while maintaining editorial freedom, security, and future scalability.
Bildungsverantwortliche, Schulleitungen, IT-Verantwortliche
