The Benefits of Centralized Site Management in Higher Education

As higher education institutions face ongoing budget constraints, increasing accessibility requirements, and growing expectations from students, faculty, and staff, managing a sprawling web ecosystem has become more complex than ever. Many universities now oversee hundreds, or even thousands, of individual websites across departments, research centers, and administrative units. 

A centralized site management model, often implemented through a multisite platform, offers a way to regain control. By balancing institutional governance with departmental flexibility, this approach enables teams to do more with fewer resources while improving consistency, accessibility, and overall user experience. 

Historically, some institutions stuck with more decentralized web models to avoid sacrificing individual department autonomy, but often at the cost of duplicated effort, inconsistent branding, accessibility, and a more complicated editing experience.  

Today, higher ed leaders are being asked to demonstrate clear ROI for digital investments while ensuring compliance and scalability. A centralized model directly addresses these pressures by creating a shared foundation that benefits the entire institution. 

At a recent, higher ed focused session hosted by Jakala, current and former university digital leaders shared the benefits of centralization. Watch to learn about their first-hand experiences, or keep reading for more information.  

For institutions facing hiring freezes or budget cuts, accomplishing more without additional headcounts or resources is imperative. One of the most compelling advantages of centralized site management is resource efficiency through simplified training, faster launches, and simplified edits and updates across sites. 

Simplified Training Internally  

With a shared web platform, there is one editing experience rather than each site having its own custom requirements. This allows for standardization of internal training programs and documentation. Knowledge becomes transferable across departments, which is especially valuable when staff changes occur. If a departmental web editor goes on leave, others familiar with the platform can step in to help, without needing to relearn a new system. The result is greater resilience and continuity across campus. 

Faster Site Launches and Greater Agility 

What once took months to design, develop, and launch can now be accomplished in days, or even minutes. New sites can be spun up quickly using pre-approved templates, allowing teams to focus their time on content rather than infrastructure. 

Efficiency Success Story for Leading University

A leading university  implemented a centralized and multisite approach to manage over a thousand websites with just 14 people using a single multisite codebase. Instead of maintaining and updating hundreds of individual systems, the team can now: 

• Deploy security patches across all sites with a single release 
• Roll out new features universally, without duplicating effort 
• Maintain a smaller, more sustainable developer footprint 

Built-In Accessibility  

Around one in five college students has a disability, according to 2024 data from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. This is up 10% from the previous decade. It’s increasingly important for institutions to meet web accessibility requirements for ethical, legal, and strategic reasons. 

A centralized platform allows accessibility best practices to be built into the foundation, rather than addressed site by site. When accessibility standards evolve, updates can be applied globally, ensuring consistent compliance across the institution. 

Sites built on a centralized platform often pass accessibility checks more quickly because many requirements are already addressed at the core. This reduces risk, saves time, and supports a more inclusive digital experience for all users. 

Brand Cohesion for a Unified Experience 

One of the top concerns institutions have when considering a centralized web model is that departments will need to sacrifice their individual website autonomy. Different departments and units often have their own websites with specific needs for functionality and design.  

A one-size-fits-all solution can feel limiting, and it can be tempting to implement every one-off request. However, doing so can impact brand cohesion and impact over time, and lead to a Franken-site. This is a site that’s been customized to a degree that makes it nearly unusable to manage or for users to navigate. 

With centralization, brand elements, such as typography, navigation patterns, and visual identity, are standardized, while departments retain flexibility over their content and storytelling. This ensures that users understand they are engaging with a trusted institution, while still recognizing the individuality of each unit. 

From the user’s perspective, whether student, parent, researcher, or donor, the value of centralized site management often comes down to three core principles: 

• Accessibility: Inclusive, compliant experiences across all sites 
• Branding: Clear alignment with a trusted institutional identity 
• Consistency: Familiar navigation and design patterns that reduce friction 

Users don’t benefit from wildly different experiences across a university’s web presence. Consistency builds confidence and makes information easier to find.