Service FAQs

How do I get a WordPress Site?

Any faculty, researchers, and graduate student can log in to WordPress using their CruzID and Gold Password. Creating a new site is as easy as deciding upon a name for the site and clicking a button. Check out Getting Started.  No need to be added as a user.  Simply login with your CruzID and Gold password and your account will automatically be created.

For more information about managing users for your existing site, visit the "Managing Users" page.


Are there limitations about how many or what kind of sites I can make?

There is no limit to the number of sites you can build. Sites should support the academic mission of the university, typically professional profiles, research groups, conferences, programs, projects, etc.  All sites must adhere to standard UC and UCSC policies


What will my URL be?

Standard UCSC WordPress site URLs look like this:

https://[your-site-name].sites.ucsc.edu

examples:  artscy.sites.ucsc.edu, jessicataft.sites.ucsc.edu

If you require a URL without the ".sites," (e.g. smithlab.ucsc.edu) fill out the launch form and specify what the URL should be.  New names must be approved by University Relations.  The request form will automatically generate an approval request.


What are the benefits of this service?

  • Easy-to-use interface
  • Web-based editing, no desktop software needed
  • Ability to add others to help manage the content on your website(s).
  • Built-in version control
  • Built-in search
  • Images and video embedding for a multi-media experience
  • Built-in themes allow you to focus on the content, not design
  • High availability, robust, and secure environment
  • Nightly backups

What are the limitations of this service?

  • Programming with languages such as PHP or Ruby, shell access, JavaScript, or custom databases are not part of this service
  • Limited to installed plugins. 
  • Limited to installed themes.

Can I install my own plugins and themes?

A set of plugins and themes are provided for you but users won't be able to install additional ones. There are over 30,000 plugins and 2,500 themes on WordPress.org alone and not all of them play nicely with each other or with the latest version of WordPress. Many are not programmed well or maintained consistently and may allow hackers to access your site or cause it to run very slowly. Because of its popularity, WordPress is a common target of hackers. 


I heard that WordPress gets hacked frequently. Is that true?

WordPress is one of the most popular and widely-used web site management tools in the world and is therefore a popular target by hackers as well. The 30+ thousand plugins and themes available can open up security vulnerabilities as well. Our vendor, CampusPress, rigorously maintains our environment to prevent these types of attacks.


Can I migrate my existing website?

Moving your website probably means creating a new website in WordPress and then copying and pasting the content from the old to the new. You can also import your site into WordPress.  The importer can be found under "tools."  It sometimes works very well but sometimes runs into issues.  Note that there will be a little cleanup to do even if you import using the same theme and plugins.  If your existing site has a different theme and uses different plugins, the clean up may be more extensive. For any assistance with migrating your site, contact CampusPress at contact@campuspress.com.


Who is eligible to use this service?

The UCSC WordPress service is intended for faculty, researchers, and graduate students to highlight professional, research, and other scholarly activities. Administrative units, non-academic staff, and undergraduates are not eligible.


Will someone help me update my content or build my website?

UCSC Web Services doesn't have adequate staffing to help maintain content. One of the reasons we are implementing WordPress is that it provides a user-friendly editing interface.  Some faculty hire students or external designers to develop their sites. However, our hosting vendor, CampusPress, provides 24/7 end-user support to anyone who uses our service. Simply click the "Need Help?" button in the WordPress dashboard or email contact@campuspress.com and they'll help you with any questions, issues or troubleshooting needs.


Should I use WordPress to host my course site?

If your course site includes student-specific information, such as rosters, grades, or other personally identifiable information, you should not have this on WordPress, as it may compromise student privacy, and violate university policy and federal law. The university provides Canvas as a secure and approved platform for managing this course information. Canvas also provides a range of tools for managing syllabus, communication tools, assignments, and public and private web pages, in addition to roster and grade book. Linking from Canvas to your WordPress site for additional information that you wish to include with your course materials may be useful. Talk with the FITC about the benefits and limitations of each of these platforms.