UWGB Subdomains Sunsetting / Reclaim Hosting Contract Ending

This document describes the actions and options available to users who claimed a subdomain of uwgb.org (e.g., name.uwgb.org) and wish to retain access to their content beyond Dec. 31, when the uwgb.org subdomain service will go offline. Users can export and save their site's contents, move those files to another hosting service, or do nothing and the site and its contents will be deleted.

We are in the process of sunsetting the “A Domain of One’s Own” service which UWGB contracts through Reclaim Hosting. Effective December 31st, individual uwgb.org subdomains will no longer be available, and all uwgb.org subdomains will be taken offline. If you require assistance with exploring your options to save or export your content, reach out to GBIT by Dec. 15.  

Reclaim Hosting Subdomains Not Available After Dec. 31st

All existing subdomains attached to uwgb.org will no longer be accessible after December 31st. GBIT staff will create CampusPress bloga for course sites, however, request assistance from GBIT by Dec. 15. If you have used your uwgb.org site as an ePortfolio, an alternative option is to use the Canvas ePortfolio feature.

What does this mean for you?  

Current subdomains associated with students, instructors, faculty, and staff will be deactivated by Dec. 31st. Consequently, these domains will no longer be accessible, and any website or content hosted on these domains will be unavailable. You have from now until Dec. 31st to plan accordingly for this change. Below we’ve outlined a few potential action items.

What actions do you need to take?

Decide whether you wish to save your site’s contents, move it, or let it be deleted.  

Save: 

  • Export and save your site. Before Dec. 15, 2023, we recommend that you save the content you’ve built on your subdomain. This includes any web pages, documents, images, or other media files you may have hosted on your uwgb.org site. Save this data to local storage or an external drive to ensure you have access to it in the future To save your site view these instructions.

Move: 

  • Consider external self-paid domain hosting for websites, like Reclaim Hosting.  This is not an institutional subscription, so support would be through third-party vendors, like Reclaim Hosting. 

Delete: 

  • Do nothing. After our contract ends, Reclaim Hosting will delete our Institution’s content, including any remaining subdomains. 

Advice:

Inform your audience or collaborators. If your website serves as a resource for others, such as a class web page, research portfolio, or academic blog, please make sure to inform your audience and collaborators about the upcoming changes. Provide them with any necessary updates, including the new URL if you decide to migrate your content to a self-paid domain. 

If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to gbit@uwgb.edu. 

Saving and Moving your Subdomain

Save Instructions

Assess and evaluate the types of content you have saved in your cPanel. Then, determine whether to follow the steps for exporting all items in your File Manager. Alternatively, if your subdomain hosts only a WordPress site, utilize the export tool provided in the WordPress Dashboard.

File Manager content (for sites built from scratch)

  1. Log into your subdomain (visit https://uwgb.org) 
    1. View this guide on how to log into your subdomain for more instructions.
  2. Select Manage Your Account to access the cPanel dashboard.
  3. Click on the File Manager tool on the cPanel dashboard.
    Image of the cPanel with a red circle around
  4. Click the Select All button
  5. Click on the Compress button.
    Image of the File Manager dashbord with a red cirlce around Select All.
  6. Select "Zip Archive"
  7. Download the compressed file to a local storage by clicking "Compress Files"
    Image of the compress command.
  8. Make sure you move your download file to a secure local or cloud storage location (e.g., OneDrive, Google Drive, flash drive, external hard drive).

Save Instructions for WordPress Site

  1. Log into your subdomain (visit https://uwgb.org) 
    1. View this guide on how to log into your subdomain for more instructions.
  2. Access your WordPress site from the My Apps tool on the cPanel dashboard (if you have claimed more than one subdomain, all subdomains associated with your email can be found in the My App tool in the cPanel dashboard). 
    Image of the cPanel with red circle around My Apps
  3. Hover over Tools in the WordPress Dashboard Menu, and select Export. The file will automatically download to your default download location.
    Image view of the WordPress Dashboard which shows the tool navigation item with a red circle for exporting your site.
  4. This exports your site as an .xml file (this can be imported back into WordPress.com or you can claim a new domain through a hosting service like Reclaim Hosting).
    View of WordPress Dashboard with red circle on Download Export File.
  5. From your downloads, move the file to stable local storage (e.g., OneDrive, Google Drive, flash drive, external hard drive).

Note: If you plan to move your site, and pay for alternate hosting, take a screen shot or write down the name of your WordPress theme and the active plugins you use on your site. Theme type can be found by navigating to "Appearance" in the WordPress Dashboard Navigation menu. Active plugins can be found by navigating to "Plugins" in the WordPress Dashboard Navigation menu.

Move Your Exported WordPress Site to Another Hosting Provider

First, decide whether you with to use WordPress.com or WordPress.org.

WordPress.com (free)

  1. Create an account on WordPress.com and go through the set up process
  2. Access your WordPress Dashboard
  3. Hover over Tools in the WordPress Dashboard Menu, and select Import
  4. Browse your computer's file for the .xml file from your uwgb.org subdomain and select it 
  5. This imports the .xml file you exported from your uwgb.org subdomain and brings the content into your new site. Your pages, posts, categories, tags, and media will be moved over, but if you want your site to look the same as it did before, you must redo any customization like installing and configuring additional themes and plugins. To do this you must:
    1. Install and configure your new theme
    2. Go through each page of your site to remove inactive plugin content or see if that plugin is available on the free version of WordPress.com

WordPress.org (requires purchasing a domain and hosting)

  1. Purchase secure shared domain hosting
  2. Install WordPress on your domain
  3. Access your WordPress Dashboard
  4. Hover over Tools in the WordPress Dashboard Menu, and select Import
  5. Browse your computer's files for the .xml file from your uwgb.org subdomain and select it
  6. This imports the .xml file you exported from your uwgb.org subdomain and brings the content into your new site. Your pages, posts, categories, tags, and media will be moved over, but if you want your site to look the same as it did before, you must redo any customization like installing and configuring additional themes and plugins. To do this you must:
    1. Install the theme you used previously and configure it
    2. Install and activate the plugins you used previously 

Move Instructions for other kinds of content

Do you need to relocate other kinds of content that you had hosted on your subdomain contact gbit@uwgb.edu with questions.

Below are a few other options for sharing content: 

  • Use SharePoint to share files, documents, and media with other UWGB staff and students.
  • Use LinkedIn or Canvas ePortfolios to publicly share samples of your work.

Keywordssubdomain, domain of ones own, dooo, eportfolio, eport, site, website, personal, digital humanities,   Doc ID130187
OwnerKate F.GroupUW Green Bay
Created2023-08-08 09:24:57Updated2023-12-01 13:45:16
SitesUW Green Bay
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