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If you are designing a higher education website, you need to consider a number of factors, including Content strategy, Information architecture, User experience, and social media feeds. This article discusses some of these issues and more. To create an appealing and efficient higher education website, here are some tips:
Content strategy
A content strategy is crucial to a higher education website design. This strategy helps institutions distinguish themselves from other institutions by establishing a brand identity and messaging that is relevant and compelling to students. This is a process known as culture change. Culture change means that the people and processes within an organization must be adapted to accommodate the new approach. For this to be successful, it must start with a content strategy that’s user-centric and aligned with organizational goals. Today’s students, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are especially savvy and picky when it comes to information.
As a result, content strategies should be created and managed at an early stage in the development process. Universities and other HE institutions have large numbers of staff and students and often manage content in isolation. Faculty and staff members often create content with different approval processes and end up with inconsistent content. Creating a Content Strategy can ensure consistency and avoid duplication of efforts, which can lead to inaccuracy and confusion.
When it comes to higher education website design, a content strategy must be developed and implemented. This involves the identification of what content will be valuable to prospective students. Then, that content is written, organized, prioritized, and placed in the navigation structure of the website. This strategy must take into consideration the objectives of the university or department and the goals of the website. It must be sustainable.
Information architecture
The process of planning the structure and flow of content on a website is called information architecture. This discipline is an emerging discipline rooted in design principles and applies them to the digital landscape. It helps website developers to organize information and make it easy to find. Information architecture is a critical component of higher education website design. To succeed in this field, your website design should be as easy to navigate as possible. Here are some tips to make your site easier to use.
Using a site map to map out your entire website makes it easy for visitors to understand how to get around. It also guides wireframes of individual pages. The wire frame of each page shows its major elements. This helps visitors identify how to get from point A to point B. Every page should have a goal and give the prospect the ability to take action. This is where information architecture comes in handy. The best websites guide prospective students through the enrollment process and build a lasting relationship between the school and its students.
The main purpose of information architecture is to guide users to desired outcomes. Besides higher education, it can also be applied to online stores, booking applications, and downloadable software. It helps in arranging content according to the relationships between its individual pieces. Information architecture is a key component of website design and is used in redesigns, as well as in interaction design. Moreover, it’s vital to consider the user’s needs, brand, and content while planning the structure of the website.
User experience
The user experience of higher education website design is a vital component of marketing your university, college, or university program. It should provide a seamless flow of information and layouts that allow prospective students to navigate easily and discover the information they need. Furthermore, it must help them engage with your university’s brand and values by providing information that is easy to digest and guiding them down an enrollment path. To create a better user experience for prospective students, contact Intuitive Digital, and let us redesign your university’s website!
The purpose of higher education website design is to provide relevant information to students, faculty, and staff. It serves as the hub for a range of information, making it a vital hub for all of these users. Therefore, a high-quality UX design will showcase your institution’s culture and improve its brand image.
Navigating the website is another crucial component of best education website design. Considering that prospective students are not familiar with university websites, it is important that the navigation is easy to navigate and meets their expectations. Furthermore, university websites often contain a large amount of digital content, making it difficult for users to quickly find the information they’re looking for. In addition, confusing navigation can result in repeated listings of important information. Thus, it is essential to consider all of these factors when designing the site.
Social media feeds
In today’s digital world, college and university websites are becoming more like an ongoing news source that can showcase the latest happenings at their institution. You can include social media feeds, blog post updates, news articles and other updates on your site to demonstrate your participation in current events. A popular example of a social media feed on a university website is the Rhode Island School of Design’s alumni page, which pulls in recent Instagram posts from alumni to keep visitors updated on the latest events.
Creating social media feeds as a part of your website design allows you to integrate them seamlessly into the overall design. For example, the USA Track & Field website incorporates social media feeds. Users can filter the content on the homepage by selecting a specific social media platform.
For example, most schools host competitions or other events outside of regular teaching hours. If your school is using social media to promote these events, you can use hashtags to display latest content on your website. A free trial of Flockler lets you see what the feeds look like on your website. You can even use one piece of content created specifically for social media to serve as a topic page. In this way, your social media feeds can help you build a strong community around your institution.
Imagery
The imagery on higher education websites has come a long way from the cliched “three and a tree” imagery. While many institutions have moved beyond the cliche to include more modern imagery, most could use a little adjustment.
The images and designs on a higher education website should tell the story of your school. The majority of higher education websites share the same look and feel, so you must make yours unique. Make the design and content easy to understand for viewers. You don’t want to overwhelm viewers with too much information, so use visual elements like infographics, videos, and bullet points to convey the important details. Clear requirements and expectations are important elements to convey a sense of good will toward the school.
Call to action
Choosing the right words for your call to action is a critical part of a college or university website. The words you choose should motivate the reader and give them something to do. This action must be clear, easy to complete, and under 150 characters long to be effective. A CTA that is too generic won’t motivate readers, and will only lead them to a website that doesn’t provide what they need.
Using a “Discover Hickory” panel on LR’s website is a powerful call to action. While it’s located halfway down the page, the panel grabs a visitor’s attention and offers a reward for completing an inquiry. This technique helps the college or university stand out from the competition and encourages students to complete the inquiry. However, you should also keep in mind that most prospective students don’t take the time to read the context surrounding the call to action.
The primary goal of a college or university’s website is to inform, engage, and convert visitors. By incorporating design, storytelling, and user experience, you can generate an emotional response that will lead to an action. The next step in the customer’s journey will be taking action. Whether they decide to enroll or not will depend on the call to action. And as a final note, it’s important to consider the goals of each page in relation to the sitemap. The sitemap should help you decide where to place each step on your website.
