Mercury Migration FAQ

Why are we moving the college sites to a new template? 

The 2017 CLAS Emily theme has been in use for the better part of a decade. It’s time for an update in order to remain current with web standards and best practices and take advantage of modern WordPress features. Therefore, we are switching to the Mercury theme. UF has changed most of their sites to Mercury so the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is changing along with them. Consistent branding helps us take full advantage of UF’s reputation as a top public university.  

How do I know what template my site uses? 

If your website’s header and footer match the UF Mercury Theme example shown below, then you are on Mercury already. If your header and footer look more like the 2017 CLAS Emily Theme shown below, then you are on the 2017 CLAS Emily theme. If you are using an entirely different template, you will be asked to move your website to Mercury.

How does the migration process work? 

If your site is on the 2017 CLAS Emily theme, we will set up a development site for you that uses the new Mercury theme and import your existing pages, posts, and media. If your site is on an entirely different template, we will create a website shell in Mercury and ask you to copy and past your content into this website.

After we share the development site’s URL with you, you’ll be able to log in and edit your content. Once the site is ready, you can request site launch on the Mercury theme.

I am still on the 2017 CLAS Emily theme. When will the migration begin? 

Migrations for “Emily” sites are being prioritized based on site traffic. Main units (departments, centers, and programs) have been migrated during spring 2026. Other websites (labs, working groups, etc.) will be migrated during or after summer 2026, with everyone being migrated by October 2026.

How long will migration take? 

The timeline for your migration will depend on the complexity of your existing site and whether you wish to take this opportunity to update, reorganize, or redesign your site’s content. Generally, for a simple, mostly text-based website with fewer than 20 pages (the vast majority of college-hosted sites), migration takes less than a week once we get started. Launch will only take a few minutes, with minimal downtime. 

What will change about how I edit my site content? 

You will still use WordPress to edit your site, logging in the same way you did before (using your Gatorlink information). The new template requires heavier use of the WordPress block editor, and some site settings and options have moved. However, Mercury is more intuitive to use in many ways, and gives you many powerful and attractive new features to make your site stand out. 

For detailed instructions on how to edit your site content, see:

• WordPress Help and How-To
• Web Content Accessibility Guide

Once I’ve migrated, is my site fully accessible?

No. You will still need to take further action after your site it migrated. You can preview those activities here: Mitigating Accessibility Issues after Mercury Migration.