Websites

The experience people have using your website can significantly affect their impressions of your group, the School of Medicine, and Washington University as a whole. Every one of the hundreds of websites related to the School of Medicine represents our brand to people around the world.

Because websites play this role in shaping and supporting our reputation, Medical Public Affairs provides assistance with the creation of digital properties for the School of Medicine and its clinical practice, and strongly encourages adherence to guidelines and tools that promote consistency across School of Medicine sites.

Whether your website is programmed in-house or built by an outside vendor, involving the digital and branding experts at Medical Public Affairs helps your group launch a site that communicates effectively, follows best practices for usability and accessibility, and supports our reputation as a world-class institution.

If you are planning a website:

• Contact Medical Public Affairs as early in the process as possible using the assistance request form; Medical Public Affairs can assist with building your site or selecting and working with a vendor.
• Learn about the WUSM Web Theme (details below), the easiest option for School of Medicine and Physicians groups to launch a new site.
• Send any work created by an outside vendor to Medical Public Affairs for review before launching.

Launching a site in the WUSM Web Theme

Developed by Medical Public Affairs, the WUSM Web Theme offers campus partners a fully branded website that is quick to deploy, easy to edit, and supported in a secure hosting environment. Widespread use of the theme by groups at the medical school establishes a stable and streamlined user experience across sites representing the School of Medicine and its clinical practice.

Explore the WUSM Web Theme demo site »
Review the WUSM Web Theme usage policy (pdf) »

Sites using the WUSM Web Theme are thoroughly tested and function smoothly on devices ranging from desktops to smartphones.

Using a vendor

To aid you in selecting a vendor, Medical Public Affairs maintains a list of agencies, freelancers and other vendors that are familiar with the School of Medicine’s mission, as well the mission of our affiliated hospital partners. If you are interested in using a vendor for your project, please complete the assistance request form.

Note that all School of Medicine websites should include an official digital logo at the top (preferably left) of every page. The logo should link to the corresponding website: Either the School of Medicine (medicine.wustl.edu) or Washington University Physicians (wuphysicians.wustl.edu).

Requesting digital services

Please complete the online assistance request form for any of the following services:

• Creating a new site
• Migrating content from an existing site into the WUSM Web Theme
• Selecting a vendor to assist with custom work
• Registering a site URL
• Requesting review/approval of third-party links on WUSM digital properties