Migrating an Existing Site to the Cal Poly Web Template
These instructions are for migrating sites that are currently not using the Cal Poly Web Template.
Dreamweaver must be configured correctly in order to properly apply CSS classes for the CP Template. This is done by selecting the menu item Edit > Preferences > General Category, and ensure that checkbox "Use CSS instead of HTML tags" is checked.
Setup the New Template
- To migrate an existing site to the Cal Poly Web template kit, begin by going to the Web Authoring Resource Center and download the template. Unpack it to the location where you will build your new web site.
- Note that use of the template requires knowledge of Dreamweaver templates and libraries, and CSS. You don't have to know how to code CSS, but you must know Dreamweaver well enough to correctly apply existing styles to your content using the Dreamweaver interface. If you need training on Dreamweaver you will need to review your training options listed on the ITS training Web site.
- Use the CP Template instructions that are on the WARC to configure your template and library files.
- Make a new page from the Dreamweaver template file.
- Begin migrating your content by cleaning it up prior to pasting it into the new template. This step is critical to making the content work with the styles of the template as well as making the content accessible. The next section on this page will guide you in doing so.
Copy Content from the Existing Web Site to the New Web Site
Follow these steps to move content into the new site and make it accessible.
- Open one of your existing (old) web pages in a browser.
- Copy the content from the existing Web page and paste it into a Text Editor (such as Note Pad on Windows). This step removes outdated HTML coding such as font tags.
- Cut the text from the text editor and paste it into the content area of your new web page.
- Apply correct formatting to the text elements. See the Content Area section of the CP Template instructions for more information on formatting and styling your content.
Data Tables Need to be Recreated in the New Web Site
Data tables in old web sites typically contain formatting and layout commands that are not compliant with current web standards. In addition, these tables often do not contain the coding features necessary to ensure the accessibility of the tables. Consequently, old tables cannot simply be copied from an old site to a new site. Use the techniques described in the following Web Accessibility sections of the WARC to recreate tables that are accessible and web standards compliant:
For simple data tables use Row and Column Headers for Tables
For complex data tables use Associating Data and Header Cells in Complicated Tables