HWP is partnering with school-based web governance teams to coordinate and orchestrate the mass migration of thousands of sites.
Migrations will begin as School design themes are rolled out
As an important step toward readiness for website migration, HWP is engaging with Schools to incorporate their branding into the HarvardSites design system. This includes color palettes, font pairings, and styling elements that will enable School sites to retain their brand identity. Sites will be migrated in waves as these branded themes become available on the HarvardSites platform. Timing and inclusion within these waves will be coordinated with Schools and units and communicated to site owners.
The proposed schedule below is updated periodically. Dates are subject to change.
| School/Unit | Initial Theme Variations Available in HarvardSites* |
|---|---|
| Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) | Jan – Mar 2024 |
| Central Administration (CADM) | Jan – Mar 2024 |
| Harvard Divinity School (HDS) | Jan – Mar 2024 |
| Harvard Medical School (HMS) | Apr – Jun 2024 |
| John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) | Apr – Jun 2024 |
| Harvard College | Apr – Jun 2024 |
| Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) | July – Sep 2024 |
| Harvard Division of Continuing Education (DCE) | July – Sep 2024 |
| Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (SPH) | July – Sep 2024 |
| Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) | July – Sep 2024 |
| Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE) | July – Sep 2024 |
| Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (RIAS) | July – Sep 2024 |
| Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) | July – Sep 2024 |
Your website migration: What to expect
Once your School or unit’s branded theme is available on the HarvardSites platform, HUIT and School IT departments will contact you directly with details about when your site will be migrated to the new platform.
During the website migration process, your existing Harvard OpenScholar website will remain live and accessible.
- Content from the OpenScholar site will be copied to a draft website on the HarvardSites Drupal platform.
- Site owners will have two weeks to review the draft website and adjust design layout and components as necessary.
- Every site will need a little adjustment, with more adjustment required for sites that relied more heavily on custom design elements.
- Once adjustments are complete and the site owner has approved the draft website, the OpenScholar site is replaced with the new HarvardSites Drupal site.
Will my new site look the same as my current Harvard OpenScholar site?
Not exactly. As HarvardSites Drupal is a newer, modern web platform, certain layouts, components, and style elements will be different. New websites will be based on flexible, accessible design systems aligned with local and University brand guidelines, and you can see some early examples of some migrated sites here.
Where to get more help
Visit the Harvard Web Publishing website for upcoming HarvardSites Drupal trainings and office hours and visit the HarvardSites Drupal User Guide to learn about the platform and see recently-launched sites.