Development of a sustainable website for the X-section

Sammanfattning

Maintaining websites through visual editors can become unnecessarily complex for inexperienced users due to cluttered interfaces andunintuitive workflows. This project examined how website management can be simplified by combining an easy-to-use Content Management System with customized editor functionality. The project created a new website for the X-section at Uppsala University using WordPress and introduced a custom plugin that simplifies the WordPress block editor by removing unnecessary functionality. To evaluate the usability of the system, user studies using a think-aloud protocol were conducted on both the original Webflow-based website and the final WordPress solution.The findings showed that users preferred simplified visual workflows and experienced less confusion when interacting with the customized WordPress editor. Additionally, the migration to WordPress lowered annual costs and improved the long-term sustainability of the website. The study suggests that reducing interface complexity and adapting editor functionality to user needs can significantly improve usability in website maintenance systems.