Find the right service for your website!
People mean a lot of different things when they say "I need a website." WordPress, Moodle, Google... third-level domains, PCI compliance, brand guidelines... there's a lot to sort through.
We're here to make it easy and help you Get on the Web.
The College of Sciences operates a WordPress service for its faculty, labs, and research groups. Your URL will be either
https://faculty.sciences.ncsu.edu/your-name
or
https://labs.sciences.ncsu.edu/your-lab-name
depending on whether you fall under the "faculty" or "lab" category.
Free.
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that allows simple in-browser set-up and updating of websites. WordPress is an open source project and its core is contributed to by hundred of community volunteers. The convenience and flexibility of WordPress has made it one of the most popular solutions on the internet for building websites.
The College of Sciences WordPress service includes a curated collection of NC State-branded themes and plugins.
Third-level URLs are generally granted for top-level college sites, major centers and business units, and recognizable services. Requests are reviewed by the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology (VCIT) and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Communications (AVCC) or their designees
Learn more about university URL and domains.
If you haven't already received permission, we'll remind you and point you in the right direction after you see your hosting options.
Your college or department may already have a preferred web hosting solution, and hosting for websites that live in a directory url (eg. parentunit.ncsu.edu/yoursite) must be arranged through the parent unit web administrators.
If you haven't already contacted your parent unit web administrators, we'll remind you and point you in the right direction after a few more questions.
Permission to use a fourth-level URL is granted by the administrators of the parent third-level URL. Example: design.oit.ncsu.edu is a fourth-level URL, and was approved by the administrators of oit.ncsu.edu, its parent third-level URL.
Note that your third-level URL administrators may have a recommended hosting solution. We recommend contacting them to discuss the best option if you haven't already done so.
If you wish to use a URL outside the ncsu.edu domain, you must receive approval from the Vice Chancellor for Information Technology or his designee. Instructions on how to begin this process are available at https://oit.ncsu.edu/campus-it/campus-data-network/network-procedures/#Domain.
OIT Web Services (AFS, cPanel, and Hosted WordPress) are NOT PCI-compliant. You are not permitted to accept, receive, or transmit any sort of credit card information through those services.
If your website will accept any credit card information for any purpose, you must contact Merchant Services to receive permission and to set up a payment gateway.
We will remind you to contact Merchant Services after you learn about your hosting options.
This may include: - Designing a custom WordPress theme - Migrating content into your website - Developing specific functionality required for your website
We're happy to help with that! At the end of this form, we'll put you in touch with OIT Design, the web design and development group in the Office of Information Technology.
All official university communications are required to follow branding guidelines, as maintained by University Communications at brand.ncsu.edu. These include guidelines on voice and tone, color, typography, and imagery.
That's great! There are definitely exceptions to the branding guidelines. University Communications has asked that you contact the Brand Executive Committee via email at ncstatebrand@ncsu.edu to clear your exception with them.
We will remind you to do this at the end along with your other next steps.
All students, faculty, and staff at NC State can create personal websites through the WordPress Blogs service, using the popular WordPress content management system.
Note: Websites created in this service for official university communications must follow university branding guidelines.
Learn more about this service
Go to this service
As part of your Google Apps for Education account, all students, faculty, and staff at NC State can create personal websites through the Google Sites service.
Note: that this service should not be used for official university communications.
Get Involved at NC State is a student organization directory, event calendar, and web platform. Build a basic website, register the members of your group, and publicize upcoming events.
OrgSync group webspace is available for groups affiliated with the College of Engineering only.
WolfWare is the collection of teaching and learning tools provided by DELTA. NC State's primary Learning Management System is Moodle, which enables instructors to communicate with students and provide a variety of activities and resources.
Note: This environment is not a fully-featured learning management system. For more functionality, consider using WolfWare Moodle.
The Hosted WordPress service is geared towards university departments seeking to transition an existing site from another platform to WordPress, or to create a new site from scratch.
The cPanel Web Hosting service is a full-service environment that provides you with flexibility, scalability, economy of scale, and more options for your Web presence. This service is available to any NC State University college, department or unit.
If you haven't already received permission, we'll remind you at the end after you see your hosting options.
If you are not eligible for a third-level URL, consider using a fourth-level URL. Permission to use a fourth-level URL is granted by the administrators of the parent third-level URL.
(Example: design.oit.ncsu.edu is a fourth-level URL, and was approved by the administrators of oit.ncsu.edu, its parent third-level URL.)
University Controller's Office Merchant Services 2711 Sullivan Drive, Administrative Services Building II
Phone: (919) 515-7004 Email: merchantservices@ncsu.edu
You indicated that your website is a special case that won't have to follow university branding guidelines. University Communications has asked that you contact the Brand Executive Committee via email at ncstatebrand@ncsu.edu to clear your exception with them.
Learn more about the university brand at brand.ncsu.edu.
If you are not sure who to contact, see the Campus Contacts page for a list of college-level IT contacts. If you're still not sure who to contact, try emailing the NC State Help Desk at help@ncsu.edu.
Fill out your contact information below and we'll send it to the OIT Design team.
Stuff you might need!
Read the Third-Level URL Naming Standard for campus and request a URL.
Learn about NC State’s university brand—our visual identity, voice, tone, and more.
University Communications provides assistance, support, coordination and strategic consultation for online communications.
OIT Design & Web Services provides contract design services, managed hosting, and general web support.
Contact info for when things go wrong
The NC State Help Desk is the primary point of contact for computing services.
Not sure who to talk to? Find your college-level IT staff and other campus resources.
OIT staff provide free training workshops to the campus community.
Useful information for web developers and content creators
The IT Accessibility Coordinator maintains resources to help create barrier-free websites.
OIT Design & Web Services has compiled guidelines for creating and managing your web content.
Basic recommendations for WordPress security and information about SSL certificates.
Websites that accept payment information must work with Merchant Services to be PCI compliant.
Websites created at NC State are required to adhere to policies related to computer use, copyright, accessibility, and more.
