'PHP' officially stands for 'PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor'. (The first 'p' is silent, like the 'p' at the beginning of pneumonia.) Instead of the web addresses ending in .htm, they will be ending in .php.
PHP is a server-side HTML embedded scripting language. It provides webmasters with a full suite of tools for building dynamic websites. Among other things, a PHP script can display the date on a webpage that indicates when that page was last updated...like the date at the bottom of this (and every) webpage at Las Positas College!
All institutional programs and organizations at the college will be using a single web page template that will ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities and a consistent visual and user experience.
An instructional template for faculty and their personal websites is currently being developed.
In the past, Las Positas College web pages have been updated using Adobe Dreamweaver. This is an incredibly powerful, professional tool that can do many advanced tasks, and can be overwhelming to non-technical users. It's like driving a Hummer to buy a gallon of milk at the corner store. To simplify the process, Las Positas plans to introduce a new web content management program called Adobe Contribute.
Adobe Contribute will enable a team of trained web page maintainers to follow a simple 3-step process to browse, edit and publish changes to web page content for different areas of the website. Allowing individual department “experts” access to their specific area of the site will streamline the process – edits don't have to be funneled through the Webmaster. We can also ensure that current, accurate information is posted on the website, while maintaining consistent design standards. Authorized users will edit web pages directly in Contribute and, in some cases, can even merge content from existing Microsoft Office documents into web pages.
Web Style Guidelines are currently being drafted by the Webmaster and Web Advisory Group and will be available to the college soon.
The nine members of the Web Advisory Group represent key areas of the college, including faculty, staff, library resources, marketing, information technology, and student services:
The Web Advisory Group is a committee aimed at updating and improving the website for Las Positas College. The group is concerned with the following issues: