Do you want to create a new website or update your current one to be more modern and better aligned with your target audiences? We’ll walk you through every step from the initial preparations all the way to go‑live and beyond.
Every LMU website is located in a "FirstSpirit web project."
To begin with, you should contact the project administrator or project coordinator who is responsible for the FirstSpirit web project and clarify in which FirstSpirit web project your future website will be located in FirstSpirit.
(Almost) all areas of LMU have their own FirstSpirit projects with designated contact persons. Consult with the contact person for your area to determine where and in what form your planned website will be hosted.
For details on this milestone, see FirstSpirit Design and Structure.
Take your time to design your new website well. Think about the following aspects in advance:
Which target groups should be reached with which messages? How should the content be divided into different content areas? How do your website and your digital channels interact?
A sitemap with all page levels is usually documented in Excel. A sitemap maps hierarchical relationships between individual pages and names them. It forms the basis for content editing and the navigation model. This reveals gaps, redundancies, or contradictions in the content.
TIP: Take a look at the websites of your national and international competitors for inspiration. Or ask your target groups what they want by conducting structured focus group interviews.
The migration from the old Fiona website to the new FirstSpirit system is not just a technical change, but also a reorientation in terms of content and concept. A 1:1 transfer of structure and content would miss the opportunity to question legacy issues and adapt the website to modern requirements. Old content is often too text-heavy and lacks visual support, which quickly appears outdated or cluttered in the new layout.
When revising existing websites, take the opportunity to relaunch your website: consolidate your content and adapt it to the needs of your various target groups, simplify user guidance on all end devices, and benefit from the possibilities of 1:1 language switching.
Another key point is accessibility: content must be designed in such a way that it is accessible to everyone, regardless of limitations or device. Existing pages in Fiona often do not meet these requirements, or only do so inadequately.
Don't just blindly copy content; analyze your pages in terms of structure, content, and navigation. Document your findings and use tools such as web analytics to evaluate important pages.
Identify the right content for your target groups:
The "Blueprint Bundle" is the preconfigured area in FirstSpirit where you can structure and edit your website. It contains many helpful modules and structures that assist you in creating your website content.
Once the basic concept for your website has been established, your contact person will work with you to fill out a checklist containing all formal and technical data relevant to the website. This includes determining the URL based on LMU's domain concept.
Based on the data stored in the checklist, Department VI.5 Internet Services creates a so-called "blueprint bundle" and activates it for you and your editors. You will also receive a so-called "prodlink" (preview link) that allows you to view the future website during the development phase.
From this point on, you and your colleagues who are involved in editing the website should register for FirstSpirit training.
Here you will learn the basics of FirstSpirit and receive valuable tips and tools.
You now have everything you need to get started: you can create your pages with the appropriate modules and content. At this point, you and your colleagues who will be working on editorial tasks should register for FirstSpirit training .
However, as the website is not yet available online, we provided you with a "prod link" or "preview link" when we handed over the BPB. You can use this link to see what the website will look like in the Munich Science Network and, for example, present it internally at your institution.
You can find tips and tricks on the pages under Create a website.
Please note that your entire previous Fiona website will go offline as soon as the new website goes live in FirstSpirit. It is therefore not possible to move only part of the website and add the rest later. It is also not possible to continue linking to the old website, as it will no longer be available. However, you can set up redirects for important known pages, which will then link to the new page.
More details Going Offline Fiona Website
A complete import of all content from the Fiona website is not technically possible and not sensible in terms of content. For structured data, such as personal data and, if applicable, news and events, data can be transferred to FirstSpirit in a partially automated manner if necessary.
Images that you used in Fiona cannot be reused in FirstSpirit because the resolution is too low. You will therefore either need higher-resolution versions of the old images or you will have to select new images for the new website in FirstSpirit.
More details regarding images in CMS Wiki.
Before your website goes live, you should perform a quality assurance check in the form of a self-check to ensure that the website is error-free and functions properly.
Tip: It is advantageous to take the self-check criteria into account when creating your website so that you have less rework to do afterwards.
At the latest during the "content freeze," i.e., a few weeks before going online, when the editorial work has been completed, you should check everything once.
Use our self-check quality assurance in the WCMS Wiki for this purpose.
Once your website is ready and you have completed most of the self-check for quality assurance, contact us to arrange a go-live date. We will prepare everything so that your website can go live:
The switch to FirstSpirit will also change the URL of your website and all subpages. Therefore, please update all links to the old Fiona site, preferably when the new site goes live. For a transitional period, we offer to set up redirects for important central pages that you specify.
More details under Redirects
Your previous website in Fiona will then no longer be publicly accessible on the web, but will still be available to you internally.
Before the Fiona site goes offline, you have the option of performing a backup yourself and, if necessary, specifying redirects that can be set up when the main site goes online.
More details under Going offline Fiona Website
As part of a consolidation process, your previously independent Fiona website will be integrated into an existing website as a subpage. Depending on the status of the main website, there are two possible scenarios:
Scenario 1: FirstSpirit website is not yet online
Your subpage will go online together with the main website. Please coordinate with the project administration to ensure that your old Fiona website is taken offline at the same time.
Tip: Include the Fiona appearance in the go-live request for website.
Scenario 2: FirstSpirit website is already online
You can put your subpage online yourself at any time. However, taking the Fiona website offline must be coordinated with Department VI.5. As a rule, going offline can be arranged within 4-6 weeks of the request. If you would like a specific changeover date, please specify this in your request.
The concept of a major "web relaunch" is a thing of the past. Continuously develop your website: