# User Experience, Functionality and Aesthetics Evaluation in an Academic Multi-Site Web Ecosystem
## 6 Discussion  
In this section, the three main research questions introduced in the Section 4 are discussed through the prism of the results presented in the Section 5. For each research question, findings are detailed, and relevant references are discussed. RQ1: In What Ways Can a Multi-Site Web Ecosystem Address the Technical and Administrative Challenges of an Elaborate Academic Web Presence? As presented above, the multi-site Web ecosystem of the Iranian University uses a central data structure in tandem with a singular content management platform to organize and retain the content and data that are essential to the institution's Web presence. These structural features, alongside its common code framework, are used to deliver dynamic content to a multitude of different websites. The ecosystem's modular approach allows for versatility and ensures its ability to cover the specialized needs of academic content managers. Figures 5 and 6 present the steady growth of the system's reach within the Iranian University, especially in the past decade. The interoperability the platform offers through both its architecture and its focus on collaborative content management gains more and more value as the ecosystem grows, thus leading to a positive feedback loop. This interoperability establishes a high level of interconnectivity within the ecosystem's websites, which has an established positive effect on the academic Web [48]. The process of migrating from an isolated website (usually operating through a general-purpose WCMS) to the ecosystem was mentioned as positive on multiple occasions by the expert content managers who took part in the focus-group interview. At the same time, the various participants shed light on a series of administrative challenges related to content generation and content sharing between institutional entities. The focus of the ecosystem's singular content management platform on offering a streamlined content manager UX through ease of use and usability, even at the expense of optional sophisticated expert functionality, ensured that content managers of all skill levels could be productive. It should be noted that expert content editors who participated in the qualitative evaluation associated the content management platform's use with emotions of accomplishment and safety, as well as a perception of improved productivity. This approach, which has a proven record in educational content management [49], makes the platform popular with a large number of content editors from various positions and, in combination with the system's collaborative content management features, ensures the best use of their limited time. Finally, part of the discussion and additions requested by the participants of the focus group were related to social media dissemination in an effort to attain better social media metrics (views, likes, etc.). This is indicative of the value of social media in content dissemination, which goes beyond just reaching new audiences but may even influence the visitors' opinion in terms of the credibility or trustworthiness of the website and by extension the institution publishing the content [50]. For an academic institution, improving third-party perception through maximizing its social media metrics via a properly planned and executed Web content strategy is extremely important, and the ecosystem can be a valuable tool toward that end. RQ2: How Does a Common Development Framework That Allows Aesthetics and Feature Variation Benefit the Various Websites of the Different Offices of an Academic Institution? According to the qualitative feedback of the focus group, the combination of a common aesthetic and functionality core with the ability to produce multiple design variations tailored to the needs of each website was very popular with the participants. The existence of a unified approach was highly praised, and its results were multifaceted. Firstly, this unified aesthetic approach may be used as a means to convey the institution's values.