The university’s official WordPress theme gets a major update with the release of UW Theme 2.0, bringing the modern Gutenberg block editor to UW–Madison websites. The new theme is available now for groups creating new sites in WiscWeb, the university’s free WordPress hosting service.
This significant milestone in modernizing the university’s web platform delivers new editing capabilities while preserving the accessibility, security, branding and ease of use that UW web managers rely on. Staff from the Office of Strategic Communication and WiscWeb developed the theme in collaboration with the Center for User Experience.
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What’s available now vs. later
Important: This initial launch focuses on new WiscWeb sites built from scratch, not migration.
- Migration tools will become available for existing WiscWeb sites in the coming weeks.
- The classic UW Theme will remain available and supported through the end of 2026, giving university web managers time to plan their transitions to the new platform.
Available now for new WiscWeb websites
UW Theme 2.0 is currently available only for groups building brand-new WiscWeb sites. This phased approach will allow the UW Theme Team to monitor the new infrastructure and ensure everything runs smoothly under real-world conditions.
In the last few months, WiscWeb has advised some groups to hold off on requesting new sites until UW Theme 2.0 launched. Those groups can now request a new site and start building with the modern editor.
Still to come: Migration tools
Migration tools for existing WiscWeb sites will become available later this fall. The WiscWeb team is finalizing documentation and training materials to guide site managers through the transition process.
You have time to transition. WiscWeb users have until the end of 2026 to complete their migration from the classic UW Theme to UW Theme 2.0—that’s more than a year.
What’s new in UW Theme 2.0?
The biggest change is the move from the WordPress classic editor to the Gutenberg block editor, which provides a modern drag-and-drop interface for building web pages.
After migrating your site to the new theme, you’ll no longer use a traditional text editor to post to the site. Instead, you’ll add and organize content blocks—such as images, buttons, quotes and text—allowing you to design layouts visually.
Key new features include:
- Ready-to-use design patterns for common page layouts like service pages, content with alternating images and 3-column resource listings.
- Custom UW blocks, including hero carousels, groups of links, quote blocks and featured content cards.
- Updated look and feel with new layouts, larger font sizes and improved contrast to enhance accessibility and readability.
- Accessibility updates with features like automatic reminders to add alt text to images.
The new theme maintains all the branding elements web managers rely on while offering more flexibility for creating engaging, accessible webpages, articles and more.
What this means for different groups
If you manage a WiscWeb website:
- No action needed right now unless you’re ready to build a brand new website.
- The WiscWeb Team will send you specific guidance later this fall when migration tools become available.
- You have until the end of 2026 to complete your transition.
If you want to migrate your WordPress website to WiscWeb:
- This gets a bit more complex. The initial migration tools are designed for WiscWeb-to-WiscWeb transitions.
- If you’re using the UW Theme and want to migrate your website to WiscWeb, you can either:
- Build a new site from scratch now, or
- Wait for the UW Theme Team to share guidance about this specific migration path.
If you do not want to migrate your WordPress website to WiscWeb:
- You can download UW Theme 2.0 and related plugins to manage your own migration.
- Documentation and support will be limited, but the UW Theme Team plans to offer consultation sessions this fall to help with migration questions.
If you manage a website on a different platform:
- This is an opportunity to consider whether WiscWeb and UW Theme 2.0 could meet your unit’s website needs.
- When you host your site with WiscWeb, their team takes care of maintaining the theme, updating WordPress, managing plugins and more.
- WiscWeb is the university’s one-stop solution for fast, secure websites that meet university brand standards. Get started with WiscWeb.
How to prepare (if you want to)
While you don’t need to do anything right now, you can start planning:
- Watch the demo: Check out WiscWeb’s August lunch & learn session to see the migration tools in action.
- Review migration options: Read WiscWeb’s migration documentation to understand what to expect.
- Consider your timeline: Set aside time on your roadmap for the UW Theme 2.0 transition.
- Explore the theme: Visit the UW Theme 2.0 website to learn about WordPress blocks and patterns and discover how the UW Theme helps you create accessible, on-brand websites.
Support & resources
The UW Theme Team will provide specific guidance for site managers when migration tools launch.
University developers managing sites outside WiscWeb can email the Office of Strategic Communication’s Digital Strategy Team to schedule a consultation about migration strategies.
You can also attend a virtual information gathering session on October 1. This session is aimed specifically at developers for non-WiscWeb WordPress sites, and will help inform next steps for UW Theme 2.0.