Our work

Streamlining three websites to create a user-friendly platform for students

Whitireia New Zealand

Project background

In 2018 Whitireia and WelTec launched a joint initiative called Te Auaha. This purpose-built campus provides both of their creative programmes with a central hub to cater for courses with specific needs like performing arts, journalism, and beauty.

The education providers’ leadership team recognised the need for an update and refresh of the websites and CMSs, with the goal of streamlining processes and making the platforms more user friendly, for both staff and students. They needed a more integrated approach and a modern web platform to support common marketing goals across the strategic partnership.

Project scope

The vision of the subsite project was broken up into three main stages. The initial stage involved Silverstripe delivering end-to-end solutions for Whitireia and Te Auaha, including discovery, design, and implementation. 

The second stage was to move WelTec’s oldest website to the platform, which went live just before Christmas 2017. The final stage involves integrating a newer WelTec site,that was completed in 2018. 

The education providers utilised Silverstripe’s design talent, solution architects, workshop facilitators, programme supporters, developers, and delivery team to ensure the multi-faceted projects were completed successfully. 

The enrolment forms on the separate websites were required to interface to several instances of student management systems. Silverstripe collaborated with the institutions to implement an automated enrolment process through bespoke form frontend, leveraging the Silverstripe Cloud services of queued jobs, logging, SFTP, and environment configuration. 

Similar templates were used to bring cohesion across the Whitireia and Te Auaha platforms, with Silverstripe’s designers still maintaining the individuality of the branding for each subsite.

Key outcomes

The new platform gives the ability to showcase their partnership, while still expressing their individual brand identities. The fluidity of the CMS also empowers the team to update imagery, videos, course information and other content, which keeps the websites looking fresh and relevant.

Another outcome is that the flexibility of the CMS enables it to be potentially managed by a common digital team across the strategic partnership. For example, instead of having web administrators and content managers in each of Whitireia, Te Auaha, and WelTec, there can be one team that manages across all three platforms.  

With one content management system, one platform, and common page templates, managing all three sites is easy. These outcomes have helped the partnership to future-proof and streamline their online experience for staff and students.

The Silverstripe team have demonstrated that they are skilled at what they do in solution architecture, design, and software development. Having all those skills in one place means that when you raise a problem there’s not just one, but two or three potential solutions to it.

Phil Guerin

Project Advisor

Services provided

  • Workshops
  • Discovery
  • Creative Strategy
  • Wireframing
  • UX & Design
  • Branding
  • Front and back end web development
  • Dedicated testing resource
  • Ongoing UX & UI discussions
  • Project Management
  • Solution Architect consultation
  • Programme Management
  • Account Management

Work with us

Whether you’re looking for a project partner who can help you realise your epic digital vision, or you need a hand with your website, we can help. 

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