The Digital Expericence Team is implementing a structured approach to web archiving by identifying outdated websites for deletion with backup preservation. This initiative represents just one facet of Yale’s comprehensive digital preservation ecosystem, which includes the Web Archiving Working Group’s university-wide coordination and specialized collections that together safeguard the institution’s digital heritage for future generations.
Navigating the Future of YaleSites Archiving While Understanding University-Wide Preservation
An archived website is no longer actively being updated but still needs an online presence. If your site isn’t regularly updated or is for a past event or project but still needs to be visible, you may choose to archive your site.
If you want to archive your site, the YaleSites team will turn your site into a “static” state where it is still visible online, but not fully functional or updatable. The archiving process will begin in 2024, and more details will be communicated then.
If your site no longer needs to have an online presence, deleting your site is the option for you.
A site can be deleted if it no longer need a visible online presence. For example, maybe your site was never completed, was abandoned, was consolidated, or is longer necessary.
The YaleSites team saves all files, the codebase, and the website’s database in case there is a reason to bring the site back online in the future.
You can delete your site at any time by reaching out to the YaleSites team.
Ask yourself or your team the following questions:
Based on the answers to these questions, determine if your site can be archived or deleted.
It is important to let the people who were invested in this site know that it is going to be archived or deleted. Begin by identifying who they are, and then make a plan to communicate with them about the archiving or deleting process.
You will also need to establish a plan for redirecting anyone who lands on the old site’s URLs. Is there a new or evergreen site where they should go? Or should there be a static message on the page indicating that the site is no longer active and has been archived or deleted?