Plone is effectively used by a variety of organizations all over the world - from global conglomerates to small businesses, from governmental bodies to talented individuals. Especially popular it is in higher education. Such prominent institutions as Harvard University, University of Bristol, University of Oxford and Yale University are successfully using Plone.
We recommend Plone as the most popular CMS for higher education institutions. It is the best CMS for branched organizations which subdivisions need unity and detachment at the same time.
Content management roles
Websites contain huge volumes of information and need complex methods and tools for content organization. One of the best Plone features for universities is access to content. Plone ensures powerful and secure workflow system and time-based publishing.
- Plone’s built-in content authoring feature provides content management rights to users.
- Members have different level of autonomy depending on their role in the current project.
- Intuitive interface doesn’t require specific technical knowledge from users.
- Familiar file and folder organization and customizable workflow support content management process.
- Complex architecture allows defining access control specifications.
Subdivision, Search and Design
Plone is one of the most popular open source Content Management Systems (CMS), that makes it easy to create, use and maintain websites. It is powerful and well-supported CMS, highly extensible, usable, and cross-platform.
- Each department or research group can have it’s own subsite or microsite built within the parent Plone site, each with it’s own department-centric information, search, navigation, and design.
- Built-in search engine gives contextual-based results for keyword queries; users can limit their search for particular directory.
- Faceted search narrows down search results providing relevant categories; e.g. search for admission information by choosing research sphere, department, degree and fee.
- Federated search helps to browse through multiple databases and knowledge management systems simultaneously.
- Plone provides almost unlimited opportunities for customizable design;
- Subsites, categories, and folders on the same Plone instance can have different Plone themes.
Data storage and sharing
Many Higher education institutions need not only promotion of their educational services, but internal IT system for managing data that assists in effective collaboration and communication. In this situation Plone will provide ideal solution as central workspace, where you can securely share files and manage projects.
- Plone CMS is outstanding document publishing system, intranet and extranet solution.
- Departments and research groups can freely publish and share documents within their subsite as well as with external users.
- Plone allows secure and easy access to the published data, as well as its organization and storage.
- Plone’s add-on Faculty/Staff Directory provides shared workspace for employees, allows them to track useful inner information, gather expertise material and customize framework for users needs.
- Plone helps to merge Faculty, Staff and Student Profiles and all the other existent information into one central user directory, which can be integrated with LDAP and Active DIrectory.
- Plone can be used as OpenCourseWare solution for publication of learning courses and research materials.
- Plone can be basis of an ergonomic and integrated LCMS connected to many pedagogic tools and University Information System that can serve both instructors and students as free and open access service to online courses and face-to-face e-learning support.
Higher education website is easy and cost-effective with Plone
Build Plone website for your university, create separate subsites for each department or research group with customized themes and navigation, allow members to publish, save, share and update information. Plone ensures ideal environment for study, work, and research.
Quintagroup helps customers to build their websites from scratch, but if you already have website, don’t worry. You can migrate content from any static website, websites based on other Content Management System(s), or old Plone versions to any of Plone latest releases.
Quintagroup offers all Plone services, especially those that require experience and proficiency:
- Time & Material basic support;
- Website deployment to production;
- Server load monitoring;
- Performance improvement;
- Plone upgrade;
- Web design;
- Responsive Plone Themes development.
Here are a few featured cases:
We developed Plone solutions for Higher education institutions on several websites. You can find more information in our Case Studies section. Here are several featured cases:
