Semantic Versioning Without the Guesswork

Semantic Versioning is one of those concepts almost every web team encounters, but many teams only partially understand what version numbers are actually telling them. In higher-ed environments—where websites depend on CMS platforms, contributed modules, plugins, design systems, APIs, and custom code—misreading version numbers can lead to upgrade anxiety, broken dependencies, avoidable regressions, and poor release planning.

This 5-minute poster session will give attendees a practical, fast-moving introduction to Semantic Versioning (SemVer) through examples that feel familiar to higher-ed web teams. I will briefly explain the meaning of major, minor, and patch releases; show how SemVer helps teams estimate risk; and demonstrate how version numbers influence maintenance, testing, and communication across developers, content teams, and stakeholders..

Attendees will leave with a clear mental model they can immediately apply when reviewing updates, discussing change risk, and creating more predictable maintenance practices.