Virtual Domains

Since 1995, IT has provided space for each CSUMB department to publish webpages. Upon request, IT creates one virtual domain for each department and hosts that domain on the main campus webserver.

Virtual domain names appear before the CSUMB.EDU in the web address (e.g. hcom.csumb.edu, it.csumb.edu).

Use of virtual domains produces two benefits: IT can isolate web statistics for just that domain, and IT can customize a search for just that domain.

Marketing Redirects

Because Web addresses, including virtual domain addresses, often become long and complicated to communicate, in 2000 CSUMB began creating marketing redirects as short, intuitive addresses that redirect to actual URLs.

Marketing redirects always take the form of CSUMB.EDU/uniqueterm and work if entered either with or without www preceding them.

Upon request or at its own initiative, Strategic Communications authorizes IT to create marketing redirects for all of us to publish in print materials and advertisements, on merchandise and promotional items, and elsewhere.

Use of marketing redirects produces multiple benefits:

  • people only need to remember the one unique term to find a webpage;
  • it doesn't matter whether the user enters www or not;
  • the address can easily be presented as a graphic image;
  • the unique term can match an email address;
  • and limiting use of a redirect to a specific campaign can provide helpful information regarding the return on investment for the campaign.

Examples

Requirements

StratComm only authorizes redirects to webpages that meet published minimum standards, and only allows unique terms that won't create confusion and don't infringe upon the rights of others who might have a stake in the term.

Request a Marketing Redirect

Contact Strategic Communications at marketing@csumb.edu


Other Redirects

Other redirects work just like marketing redirects, but IT creates them for a different reason. Specifically, rather than abandoning some web addresses when replaced with new sites and pages, IT redirects them to the replacement page to prevent broken links. This is done when it is highly likely that other web publishers have included the address in their navigation or that web users have bookmarked the address. Many have been created as we have moved existing information into our Charlotte web content management system.

 


Posted by Greg Pool on Dec 01, 2010 -