Web services
All official websites, including these of departments and research groups, must comply with the rules for Oxford University website. For up-to-date information e.g. what domain name you can request for project's website as well as where it can be hosted please read this page.
Recommended and supported services
List of recommended and supported solutions for different types of websites/web activities that are available to all members/research groups of Department of Physics:
User profile page
This is available to all members with a valid Physics account. Each user has edit access to the area within the main Department of Physics website (https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk). Users can edit information using a built-in editor, upload files (100MB in total), change their profile’s image, etc. Information published on user profile pages should be kept up-to-date. For more information how to access profile pages and edit their content, please see this page.
Research section page
This is similar to the user profile page but it is aimed at research groups and projects taking place within the Department of Physics. Content can be edited by multiple users using the built-in editor, files can be uploaded and new pages created - see the help for editing web pages guide. As it is part of the main Physics website it complies with the appearance and branding of the main Physics website as well as the University rules for official websites and accessibility. Each research project should apply for an area under the research section and keep its content up-to-date. Please email communication@physics.ox.ac.uk if you need a section for your research project.
Personal web space
Before creating a personal web page please first edit your profile page on the departmental website. There are the following options for personal web space:
- Personal web space on the University IT services web server (recommended service) – all members of Oxford University can request web space for a personal website (max 250MB, HTML). For more information about this service, how to request it etc. please see How to use the personal web pages service. IF defult 250MB is not enough use the OU IT Self-Service and search for Website Quota Increase.
- Personal web space on a Physics web server (only if there is a good reason why Personal web space on the University IT Services server cannot be used) – on request, some personal web space can be made available on departmental web servers. It is suitable for hosting simple HTML personal websites, must be work-related and it must not be used for web applications, or to run server-side scripts, such as PHP, for security reasons. Please see this page for more information.
Group web space
Before creating a custom group web page please first edit your research section on the departmental website. There are following options:
- IT Services has built an exciting new web platform for the University based on Drupal. Project is called MOSAIC. To get a better idea of what Mosaic is capable of browse selections of sites. To request a new site use this Site Request form. There are some guidance on how to plan, build and launch a website using MOSAIC. Support is provides through the IT Services helpdesk by email oxfordmosaic@it.ox.ac.uk or phone on 01865 (6)12345. There is a specialist training course from the IT Learning Center.
Support for researchers: a free personal consultation to discuss your requirements, a demonstration of the Mosaic functionality, and talk about how you can use the platform to best effect.
Cost of the service: In most cases you should be able to use this services for free (current pricing). IT Services provides additional support (charges may apply) such us help with setting up a custom web address - add-on services page lists all currently available services. - on request, some group web space can be made available on departmental web servers. It is suitable for hosting simple HTML group websites, must be work-related and it must not be used for web applications, or to run server-side scripts, such as PHP, for security reasons. Please see this page for more information.
- more information about development of custom webiste can be found under: Custom websites and web applications (bottom of this page)
Teaching materials
To maintain lecture resources and make them available to students over the Internet, we recommend using Canvas (replaced WebLearn (https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal and http://help.it.ox.ac.uk/weblearn/index). Canvas is the University’s new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
Collaborations
For research groups/projects that require web space for storing e.g. meeting notes, project-related documents such as guidelines, instructions etc. and be accessible over the Internet by the project's members, we can set up on request one of the solutions below:
- A Wiki – based on the latest MediaWiki LTS (Long Term Support) release (https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki), access via web interface,
- SharePoint – OU IT Services web page https://help.it.ox.ac.uk/sharepoint#/ provides up-to-date information about this service.
- Research File Service - The Research File Service (RFS) provides a reliable, resilient, secure, and scalable University-approved central storage facility for active research data. RFS users are provided with the assurance that their research data is safely protected, and accessible.
- Teams and Groups
- Nexus365: OneDive for Business
- Git repository manager - available to all memebrs of Department of Physics. GitLab is a web-based Git-repository manager providing wiki, issue-tracking and more. If you need to learn more about git please check Getting starter with git, to read morea about GitLab look at GitLab basics page or number of articles created by Physics IT Support team
Please email itsupport@physics.ox.ac.uk to discuss your requirements and help to select the most suitable solution.
Sharing large files
- Nexus365: OneDive for Business
- Research File Service - The Research File Service (RFS) provides a reliable, resilient, secure, and scalable University-approved central storage facility for active research data. RFS users are provided with the assurance that their research data is safely protected, and accessible.
Video and audio hosting
- The Podcasting at Oxford service provides two ways in which to make your audio and video content available. The University has its own site in iTunes U. For more details, go to http://itunes.ox.ac.uk. The iTunes U service requires the listener or viewer to be using the iTunes software. For those who don't have the iTunes software, podcasts can also be accessed using a web browser at http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/.
- Departmental Vimeo channel – please contact Media Services Unit for more information.
Conferences/workshops
- Using the University's Online Store is a convenient way for departments to sell goods and services via the Internet. The Online Store comes with modules that can be used to manage payment and registration as well as to maintain a simple website for a range of events such as workshops and conferences, from small to complex. To start using the online store you must first complete a set of courses. Check with your subdepartmental administrator as they may be already using the online store. For more information about online store facilities, courses please check this website: https://finance.admin.ox.ac.uk/purchasing
- Custom conference and workshop website – at present we can help you with setting up a simple website including registration and payment (via the University of Oxford Online store).
Please contact itsupport@physics.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible to discuss different aspects of running a workshop/event, so we can suggest the best solution.
Publications
Symplectic Elements is a central University tool that helps to record bibliographic and other information about research outputs. Symplectic provides a simple web-based interface for adding and reviewing research information held in personal user accounts, which are stored in a secure central server. All publications stored in the Symplectic Elelments systems are displayed automatically on a profile page as well as under research pages on the main Physics website. On this page you can find information on how to request a Symplectic account.
Online survey
- SharePoint: https://help.it.ox.ac.uk/sharepoint
- Bristol Online Surveys
- Nexus365 Forms
- WebLearn: further information about the WebLearn survey tools can be found on this page - there are plans to discontinue this service
Major differences of survey tools outlines this PDF document
Online discussion forum
Weblearn can be used for an online discussion forum, please read this document for further information
Database system for researchers - CLOSED
The Online Research Database Service will be closing on 1 June 2017.
The service is closing and if you wish to retrieve any data from it you should do so immediately. If you need help and support in doing so please contact the Research Support Team of Academic IT Services at researchsupport@it.ox.ac.uk soon.
For more information please visit ORDS main page
Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN)
LabArchives is a secure and flexible web-based system available for groups within University of Oxford.
Custom websites and web applications
Before taking on development and design of a custom website or web application, please consider the recommended and supported solutions listed above. Contact Physics IT Support team via itsupport@physics.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible to talk about requirements and to work out the best way to achieve them. Developing a custom website or application is a large undertaking: development, design, hosting and maintenance. Typical options available for this type of website:
Web site design/development
- The Physics IT support team provide free consultancy, advice and recommendations but unfortunately we do not have enough resources to provide support with design or development of the custom websites or web applications.
- Web Design Consultancy (WDC) provided by Central University IT services provides support for web design activities across the University. A full description of this service can be found on this page: http://help.it.ox.ac.uk/webdesign/index
- It is recommended to contact MOSAIC team to discuss your needs and if they can be achieved using this framework.
- If you want to hire an external company or project developer for your project's website design and development please read information published on the Central University IT services page: http://help.it.ox.ac.uk/internal/3rdparty/checklist
Web Hosting
- Central University IT services provides web space for this type of web project and support for HTML websites. For a full description, please see http://help.it.ox.ac.uk/web/personalwebpages/vhost-index
- NSMS - A comprehensive web service with a full range of advanced features: http://www.it.ox.ac.uk/nsms/web-hosting. Services provided by NSMS are charged. Please see the web hosting charges page at http://www.it.ox.ac.uk/nsms/charges#Web
- Department of Physics, Virtual Machine (VM) – charged per year (Linux/Windows 2GB of RAM, 1 CPU, 50 GB HD). The Physics IT support team must be contacted to discuss details of the project and assess if it is secure to host it on a departmental VM. For more information please contact itsupport@physics.ox.ac.uk
- DNS: Domain Registration & Hosting and DNS Naming Policy
Categories: Web