Frequently Asked Questions

A: OU Create is a project at the University of Oklahoma managed by the Center for Teaching Excellence.

OU Create offers students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to register a domain (.com, .org, .net) and create a digital presence through various mediums such as blogs, portfolios, and wikis. Students can easy install popular open-source applications such as WordPress, MediaWiki, Drupal, and Omeka on their space giving them an unlimited amount of ways to creatively express and create their digital identity.

A: There is a free subdomain option for students, faculty, and staff at the University of Oklahoma. This free subdomain looks like [freesubdomain].oucreate.com

Alternatively, a custom domain can be acquired through this initiative for $12/year. This custom domain looks like [customdomain].com (can also end in .org or .net).

A: Create a blog, or a personal website, or your very own wiki page for collaboration! These are just a few examples of what is possible with an OU Create account.

The most popular OU Create use case are websites and blogs created with WordPress.

Technical Questions

A: Domain names are simply addresses to websites. For example www.ou.edu is a domain name.

A: A subdomain is a way to organize and separate content on your website. For instance, create.ou.edu is a subdomain of ou.edu. Each site contains different content, but the root domain for both web addresses is ou.edu.

If you possess a domain, you are able to create an infinite number of subdomains associated with it. In practice, this allows a user to simultaneously install multiple web applications to each of their domain and subdomains (such as WordPress, Omeka, MediaWiki, and/or Drupal)

For more information please refer to the support wiki page on subdomains.

A: A web application is like an app for your phone or software for your computer. Specifically, a web application is a specialized piece of software to be installed on a server and used to manage web content.

WordPress, MediaWiki, Drupal, and Omeka are all examples of web applications. Each have their own advantages and limitations for developing web content. Therefore, selecting the proper web application to suit your needs is an important step to success.

To see some more examples of web applications, refer to the list that can be easily installed on you OU Create domain.

A: The cPanel is a simplified user interface that allows one to manage content on a server without needing to learn terminal commands.

Creating new subdomains, installing web applications, managing server files, etc. can all be accomplished within the cPanel.

For more information about the cPanel, please refer to the cPanel Dashboard support wiki page.

A: Installatron is the web application installer that is part of the cPanel. In other words, it is where you can install or uninstall web applications on your domain or subdomain addresses.

To learn how to use Installatron to install a web application, refer to the corresponding OU Create support page.

A: “WordPress is the most used blog application powering millions of blogs and being used by tens of millions of people every day.”

WordPress is a powerful open source software that allows individuals to create websites and blogs. Within WordPress, there are options to customize not only the content of a website, but also its appearance and functionality. In fact, between themes and plugins, these components of WordPress offer limitless customization of how a website looks and operates.

For instance, some themes offer custom background images, color schemes, menus, and widgets. On the other hand, plugins can be used to increase security for your WordPress website, allow visitors to make profiles on your website, or include maps, buttons, and galleries of photographs on your website.

For more information, please see the OU Create Support Wiki content on WordPress.

A: WordPress plugins are like browser extensions or software expansion packs. They allow infinite levels of functionality customization for a WordPress website.

Plugins enable you to:

To enable new features on your WordPress website, install plugins within your WordPress web application.

A: Yes. We suggest Jetpack by WordPress.com and Akismet to get started.

Please note, Jetpack requires a WordPress.com account and Akismet requires additional setup.

General Questions

A: No, users that joined OU Create before Fall semester 2015 will not be billed for their custom domain name at this time.

A: The best place to start would be the OU Create Support Documentation.

A: If you do not find answers to your questions in this FAQ, the Support Documentation, or across the internet, please send your question(s) to create@ou.edu.

A: To establish and control your digital presence on the web.

In today’s world, where information about people is easily accessible, it is important to consider how one can influence what information is associated with their name. One excellent technique would be to create a blog or a portfolio of accomplishments that is affiliated with your name. That way, when your name is entered into a search query such as Google, the information available is what you have created and curated.

A: Anything within the realm of your imagination! Here are some specific suggestions and ideas.

A: With this overview:
1. Select your domain name. (More information.)
2. Sign up on create.ou.edu. (Here’s a guide.)
3. Install a web application, we suggest installing WordPress first. (Here’s how to install a web application.)
4. From this point, you can use your web application as your sole means to manager your website. However, to install more or different web applications, you will need to sign in to create.ou.edu to manage these settings.

A: Log in to manage your OU Create account here.

If you have not already installed a web application, we suggest installing WordPress. Here’s how to install a web application)

A: Lynda.com is a video repository like YouTube. However, Lynda.com contains instructional videos intended to teach viewers about specific topics and can be used to learn how to work with web applications such as WordPress.

Lynda.com is normally a paid service. Fortunately, University of Oklahoma students, faculty, and staff members have FREE access to this tool at lynda.ou.edu. In other words, OU Create users have access to course materials associated with using create.ou.edu.

Relevant courses and playlists can be accessed at in the Lynda.com Training Support Page.