UTA Digital Design System

Contact the Digital Team

The Digital Design System is the overarching style, rules, and regulations that tie the whole UTA website together. The design system makes sure that every page on the website feels consistent with the rest of the site, so users have a seamless experience on their journey through UTA.edu.

How to Create a Great Webpage

Determine the purpose of the page.

1

Before anything else, clearly define why the page exists.
This purpose should be understood by all stakeholders and should guide every decision that follows. A well-defined prupose:

  • Keeps content focused
  • Reduces scope creep
  • Improves search engine discoverability (SEO)

If the purpose isn't clear, the page will struggle to be effective.

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Identify your audience.

2

Design and content should always be tailored to the intended audience.
In a university setting, your audience will typically fall into one of three groups:

  • Prospective students - focused on programs, admissions, campus life, and outcomes
  • Current students - looking for resources, tools, deadlines, and support services
  • Staff - needing internal processes, policies, and operational information

Each group has different needs and expectations. A successful page clearly targets one primary audience and meets them where they are.

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Create a wireframe and develop content.

3

The structure of the page and the content should work together - but which comes first depends on the situation.

Two common approaches:
  • Content-driven approach - If content is fixed (e.g. legal or compliance content), design the page around it.
  • Structure-driven approach - Start with a wireframe or outline to define layout and flow, then shape content to fit that structure.
A wireframe helps:
  • Define page hierarchy
  • Improve usability
  • Guide content clarity and flow
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Build out the page.

4

With a clear purpose, audience, and structure in place, you're ready to build. Focus on:

  • Clear concise copy
  • High quality imagery
  • Engaging media (video, graphics)
  • Consistent components and styling

This is where everything comes together into a functional, user-centered page.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Access to Sitecore is managed by the Office of Information Technology. To access Sitecore, you must do the following: 

  1. Register for and complete Sitecore Training, available here. 
  2. Fill out this access form and indicate the branch of the website that you need edit access to.

Send an email to digitallab@uta.edu with the following information:

  • Your name and contact information
  • The URL of the page containing the bug
  • The operating system and browser you used to access the page
  • Any additional information that may assist the Digital Lab with reproducing the bug.
Access to analytics is managed by OIT. To be granted access, fill out the ticket form available here and specify the service you need access to, and the case for being granted access. 

Please note that generally analytics access is not granted to non-UTA employees, including contractors, service providers, and others. 

 
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UTA Identity Guidelines

By adhering to these guidelines in the marketing and communications materials you create, you support a strong and consistent brand that conveys professionalism and commitment to our mission, and establishes relationships between the University and our diverse audiences.
UTA Identity Guidelines