University Cascade CMS Development

Developing the Texas A&M University -- San Antonio's website on a Cascade CMS environment
Screenshots of the TAMUSA website on desktop and mobile.
Expertise

Client

The Texas A&M University of San Antonio

Timeline

Under 6 weeks

Challenge

The Texas A&M University of San Antonio needed to rework their online presence.

Through Steel Advertising, Standard Beagle stepped in to develop the front and back end of the new page templates.

How might we develop a redesigned website on an existing Cascade framework?

Scope

Development included 4 new page templates which included the homepage and 1-2 key pages, and new navigation and site structure.

Constraints

The existing TAMUSA site was built on a Cascade framework, which needed to stay intact. The timeframe for development was under six week.

Implementation

Implementation included adding the new Cascade templates into the site structure, making revisions to the site navigation approved during the Design phase, and applied the revised navigation hierarchy to the new navigation structure.

Our Goal

Standard beagle’s goal was to create a series of templates that the client could use to build the site. This would require flexibility and scalability.

Our Solution

Standard Beagle created new page templates and a new navigation system to modernize the university’s presence, and allow users to easily find important information on the website.
We developed the new layouts and navigation system using Steel Advertising designs, on the website’s existing Cascade framework.

Results

The new templates were responsive and easy-to-configure in Cascade CMS, with a new scalable and organized mega menu.

We handed off the templates to the in-house website team to transition pages to the new templates. The website launched in July 2022.

Page templates included a parallax scroll, as well as elements that scrolled at different rates for a more engaging and dynamic feel.

Our Process

Understand

Alongside Steel Advertising, we made technical recommendations during the design process.

Functional Requirements

Our aim was to address how the application of the new designs on a Cascade CMS would work, limitations, and technical capabilities.

Because the original site had been built using Velocity Template Language, new work had to be built with the older engine in mind.

Screenshot of Registration Resources page hero section.
Screenshot of the TAMUSA homepage.
Screenshot of the TAMUSA mega menu on desktop and mobile.

Create

Template Build

With high-fidelity designs approved by the client, we began developing the new templates onto the existing framework.

  • Each template could support older content
  • The complex grids were able to scroll on a parallax
  • Elements were built to be flexible and grow with larger amounts of content
  • Certain elements were built to scroll at different rates
Gif scroll of TAMUSA homepage.