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What GRIT supports

Site Naming Options:

  • Standard Domain
    • GRIT can internally provide and manage subdomain names within any of our departmental domains (
        • grit.ucsb.edu
        • eri.ucsb.edu
        • geog.ucsb.edu
        • msi.ucsb.edu
        • isber.ucsb.edu
      • eg: mycoolproject.grit.ucsb.edu
    • Vanity Domains - Custom domain names for a more personalized feel
      • Within ucsb.edu - (ie: oceancolor.ucsb.edu)
        • Read docs at: https://www.it.ucsb.edu/websites/subdomain-guidelines-and-requests
        • Request form is at bottom of that form
        • It takes some time (weeks?) to get approval for a domain
          • process may be complicated if the name has any ambiguity or might be confused with another department or entity on campus.
          • Once approved, GRIT can be designated to manage DNS.
      • Outside of ucsb.edu - purchasing a domain name through a registry - (ie: oceancolor.com) 
        • GRIT recommends against doing this 
        • The researcher is entirely responsible for purchasing and maintaining the domain name.
        • If the domain registry lapses, the researcher is responsible for re-acquiring the domain name.

    Hosting Options:

    • GRIT hosted
      • Platforms: Static HTML, PHP, WordPress, Drupal, generated sites (Jekyll)
      • Integrations: GitHub webhooks for static or Jekyll sites
      • Features:
        • Managed by local Web team.
        • Sites can be configured to access GRIT storage resources
        • Researchers may be able to directly access their web content (depends on platform used)
    • LSCG hosted
      • Platforms: Drupal (9,10)
      • Features:
        • LSCG run management platform.
        • LSCG Design Team - recharge at hourly rate
    • Pantheon
      • Platforms: Drupal, WordPress
      • Features:
        • WebUI tools for management
    • External Service (Wix, Squarespace, etc...)
      • Requires DNS pointers and extra setup - NOTE: not all external services support external URLs

    Publishing Links to the Website:

    Many publications are now online, making updating links in a published document more approachable.  Even though it's better now that in the past, GRIT recommends that users publishing links online use a Durable Object Identifier (DOI).  This is basically a link to a link, allowing the owner to update the link in the future if the linked resource moves or is renamed.

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