goUW - Shortened and Vanity URLs
goUW is a web-based tool that allows users to shorten and brand UW-Madison-related URLs. This service is hosted by the College of Engineering at http://go.wisc.edu/. Anyone in the UW-Madison community may use this service to generate random go.wisc.edu/xxxx URLs that redirect to longer URLs.
The ability to create a specific (or vanity) go.wisc.edu URL is usually reserved to the communications lead for the particular unit making the request. The reasons for this are several:
- To make sure the department is aware of the URL
- To ensure that the most popular terms are reserved for the primary service provider (e.g., go.wisc.edu/bucky, go.wisc.edu/provost, etc.)
- To prevent misuse of UW-Madison branded terms
- To enable any change that might be needed in the URL once it is assigned
If your unit has a communications lead and you want a vanity URL, please ask that person to assign it. Or, if they do not have assignment ability, have them contact Nate Moll (nate.moll@wisc.edu) in UW Communications to obtain it. If you do not have a communications lead, please contact Nate directly.
For questions that do not pertain to vanity URL assignments, contact Nick Weaver (jnweaver@wisc.edu). Nick also acts as the backup contact for vanity URL assignments in the event Nate Moll is unavailable. If Nick is unavailable, contact Tony Tallmadge (anthony.tallmadge@wisc.edu).
Internal Notes
If a customer calls the Help Desk with questions or problems with vanity URL accesss requests, he or she should be referred to Nate Moll in UW Communications. Customers can contact him by calling (608) 262-9406 or emailing him at nate.moll@wisc.edu. If the customer is having trouble with anything other than the vanity URL access requests, then he or she should be referred to Tony Tallmadge in Computer Aided Engineering. Customers can contact him by emailing anthony.tallmadge@wisc.edu.
- Note: If the customer is calling about a login issue, the Help Desk will provide NetID login troublshooting and verify that the issue is not connected with the customer's NetID before referring them to Nate.
Help Desk cases for goUW should be created using the Referrals Handling Information