Application & Web Hosting Services

For Web-Based Projects

Information Technology provides robust, flexible hosting solutions for the William & Mary community. Whether you are developing a tool for a research project, an instructional application for a class, an administrative system, or a platform for a student organization, we are here to help bring your project online.

Because the needs of our campus are constantly evolving, we have designed our hosting services to be highly adaptable. We can't anticipate every brilliant idea you might build, so we keep our guidelines broad and our door open.

Flexible Hosting Solutions

In many cases, we are able to host your application at no cost to you or your department. We offer a few different paths depending on your project's architecture:

Container-Based Hosting: We can host software written in almost any modern programming language using our container platform. If you aren't familiar with containers, don't worry—our team will work directly with you to help package and deploy your application.

Traditional Web Hosting: If you are running a PHP application, including WordPress, we offer dedicated environments to support it.

Static Websites: For projects consisting of static files, we provide fast, reliable hosting and can assist with setting up automated publishing workflows to make updating your site seamless.

Domain Names & Branding

Selecting the right web address is an important part of launching your application. IT will partner with you to navigate the process of selecting and reserving a domain name.

The Power of a wm.edu Domain

We strongly prefer and provide wm.edu domain names for free. Because .edu domains are restricted and cannot be purchased by the general public, using a wm.edu address certifies your affiliation with the university and establishes immediate trust with your visitors. For context, anyone on the internet could buy a generic domain like "project-at-wm.com".

If you believe your specific use case requires a domain name that does not end in wm.edu, please reach out to us with your project details so we can discuss the best approach.

If you’re using the W&M brand on your website, be sure to follow the university’s branding guidelines. For faculty/staff: if your application or site will be used by anyone outside of your office or team, including any students, you should contact University Marketing for a site review before launch.

What We Ask of You

We strive to make hosting as frictionless as possible. In return, we have two primary requirements for all application owners:

Maintain Active Contact Information: We must have up-to-date contact details for the primary application owners. This ensures we can reach you immediately if there is a security event, a necessary maintenance window, or any other critical issue.
Understand the Shared Responsibilities: Security and maintenance are a team effort. All application owners must understand and adhere to the Shared Responsibilities Model.

Questions?

This overview is intentionally high-level because the possibilities of what you can build are endless. If you have questions, aren't sure which hosting option is right for you, or just want to bounce an idea off our architecture team, please reach out.

Contact the Technology Support Center (TSC)
757-221-4357 (HELP) | [[support]] | Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm