The SAS IT Office provides assistance with the design, development and update of web sites. SAS pioneered the widespread use of a Content Management System (CMS) at Rutgers and continues to expand this service. Our staff of Web Developers and Designers create attractive and functional templates for our CMS system for use throughout SAS. By focusing our web development on the CMS system we are able to empower departments to maintain their web pages largely on their own while maintaining some measure of control over the basic format. This allows us to ensure compliance with both the Rutgers and SAS identity policies.
Our Services
We help move SAS departmental and center websites who are not yet using our Joomla to our system at no charge. We assist with setting up the structure of the site and train departmental personnel to maintain content of the site.
Learn about training workshops.
We provide options for websites for research groups, labs, conferences, special projects.
Read about non-departmental/center website options.
We have developed a Joomla template that meets Rutgers University and School of Arts and Sciences identity standards.
Read about the SAS Joomla template.
Our standard Joomla websites include extensions to display images, image slideshows, rotating news and/or announcements, calendars and lists of events, and a user-friendly content editing system.
SAS provides web hosting free of charge for standard web content including up to one gigabyte of drive space. Departments can pay a nominal yearly fee should they require drive space in excess of one gigabyte.
Billable Services
We also offer web editing and web design services at a flat hourly rate to SAS departments and units. Charges for our services are detailed below.
Please also read about time completion expectations and other details.
| Service | Rate | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Web Content Editing | $16/hr | Editing of any Joomla website that was created by the SAS IT office will be handled for the hourly fee with a minimum 1/4 hour charge per request. This does not include website design changes, only content modifications. For example, the addition of a faculty member to a list or the editing of phone numbers on the site. |
| Web Development and Design | $65/hr | Development and Design fees apply to customization of template style sheets, modifications to menu structure, advanced image editing, or any other web enhancements that go beyond basic editing. |
| Initial Site Setup | $500 | Charged for the initial setup of the Joomla website. This fee is waived for any Department or Center that does not yet use our Joomla system and is setting up the main page for their Department or Center. This includes the creation of the site, registration of the hostname, site branding and the creation of administrative accounts. |
Hourly Web Content Editing
Price: $16/hr with a 15 minute minimum charge per request.
The Joomla content management system is relatively easy to learn and we provide training classes, test sites and online tutorials to help users learn how to maintain their own sites. It is our hope that at least one person in every department would learn how to use the system so they can make their own changes. However, we recognize that some departments will have web maintenance requirements that cannot be handled by existing staff. Rather hiring their own assistants, departments may opt to take advantage of our fee-based web editing service.
Establishing Content Editing Service
In order to take advantage of this service either the Chairperson or main administrative person in your area should submit a secure (click the "Confidential" box) SAS-IT REQUEST with the following information:
- The names of the people who are authorized to request changes
- The name of the person who should receive account updates and bills
Requesting Changes
To initiate the actual changes, the Chairperson or senior administrative member of a given group must designate the person who is authorized to make requests on their behalf. That person can then SUBMIT REQUESTs to make changes to the site. The REQUEST can include as many changes as needed and the web editors will keep track of the amount of time it takes to complete the requests. Each REQUEST will have a minimum of a 15 minute charge associated with it so you are encouraged to group together smaller web editing requests.
After each web editing job is complete, the REQUEST closure message will include the total amount of time taken to complete the task, the total charge and your total outstanding balance.
Once your outstanding balance reaches $500 or we reach the end of the fiscal year, we will request that you process a journal entry to transfer the funds.
Web Development and Design
Price: $65/hr with a 30 minute minimum charge per request
Initial Site Setup Fee
Price: $500
This fee is waived for SAS departments and centers that are not currently on Joomla and are setting up the primary website for their area.
The Site Setup Fee covers initial setup of the site:
- creation of a new instance of Joomla (includes a new Joomla database on the SAS mySQL server)
- unit branding
- registration of a Rutgers (.rutgers.edu) hostname
- creation of the accounts you'll need to manage the site.
Time completion expectations and other details
All design work will be accompanied by an estimate detailing the approximate number of hours needed. Longer projects (such as a complete site redesign) will require additional hours for planning and may be eligible for discounted hourly pricing.
It is extremely important that there are no long gaps during the design process and that each project be completed in a reasonable period of time. Projects that experience extensive delays often suffer both in terms of the site design and the overall expense of the project. The web developer should never have to wait more than two weeks for requested information. Finally, please keep in mind that no web developer is working on a single project full time.
Options for websites for research groups, labs, conferences, special projects
1) Learning Management Systems (LMS) - Canvas (course and management tool)
Canvas can handle project sites. Access to a Canvas site can be shared with people outside of Rutgers, making collaboration simpler than it may be using other departmental resources or a freeform website. HTML files can be made public to create an interface for the internal content. Canvas sites come configured with many tools (such as file sharing, chat, notifications and calendars) that a freeform website does not.
Cost: There is no charge for Canvas project sites.
Setup: Go to and review types of sites, then request a site.
Support: or click the "Canvas Help " link on
2) sites.rutgers.edu (WordPress sites)
sites.rutgers.edu offers free, do-it-yourself Wordpress-based sites for faculty, research project, and student group sites. For more information, see: https://sites.rutgers.edu/
3) Other non-SAS options
This list may not be complete. Reach out to Rutgers IT for a complete list of website options.
- Web hosting with Rutgers EAS Web Consulting Services (WCS)
- Web Hosting using ScarletApps and Google Sites
- Web hosting with OIT Enterprise Infrastructure
- Web hosting with local IT departmental web servers. Contact your Department or Unit IT Support.
- Rutgers Get Involved (student group websites)
4) Joomla! site hosted by SAS
A primary unit Joomla! site is provided free to all official departments, programs and centers under School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers.
For additional Joomla! sites requested for units, there are three options:
- Create a standalone Joomla! website.
- Add a microsite within the main departmental Joomla! site.
- Create a 'sub site' within the unit's main departmental Joomla! site (smaller than a micro site)
a) Standalone Joomla! website.
Site Setup Fee: $500
Design/Development charge ($65/hour): 5-6 hours to set up menu and structure.
Content Editing charge ($16/hour): Time spent varies with the amount of content.
b) 'Microsite' within the main departmental Joomla! site
This involves adding new content and main menu within the unit's main site. It will have the same SAS branding as the main unit, but may have aspects of it that make it look unique such as its own navigational setting (horizontal menu), unit name in banner area and slideshow.
Site Setup Fee: none as this is contained within an existing site
Design/Development charge ($65/hour): 5-7 hours
Content Editing charge ($16/hour): Time spent varies with the amount of content.
Microsite Examples
- https://www.amesall.rutgers.edu/global-africa/home
- https://kines.rutgers.edu/sleep-lab-home
- https://polisci.rutgers.edu/un-ma-program
c) 'Subsite' (smaller than a micro site)
Create a site within the site, but only uses a right side menu system rather than a horizontal menu. This does not add a new menu across the top. It can include a new banner in the top area, and the right side menu.
Site Setup Fee: none as this is contained within an existing site
Design/Development charge ($65/hour): 2-3 hours
Content Editing charge ($16/hour): Typically this is 3 - 4 hours but varies based on amount of content.
Subsite Examples
- https://cbn.rutgers.edu/peng-jiang-lab/339-peng-jiang-lab
- https://kines.rutgers.edu/athlete-health-neuro-lab
- https://molbiosci.rutgers.edu/biochemistry/about-the-biochemistry-program
For all Joomla! projects, to get started, provide the following:
- A confidential/secure SAS-IT REQUEST from the chair, director, or unit administrator including the following:
- For changes within an existing site, approval to make the requested changes to the existing website.
- If the unit is not set up for our billable services, specify a billing contact.
- Authorization of the person requesting changes to request billable services.
- Authorization of the person requesting changes to be granted administrator access for the website or portion of the existing website.
- A site map. This is the outline that defines the structure of the site.
- Content for pages, if we will enter it.
- Give us an idea of what your expectations and needs are in terms of timing for completion of work.
