University Website UX Essentials
Top High-Impact Usability Improvements for Higher-Ed Websites
Speaker: Katie Sherwin
Senior User Experience Specialist, Nielsen Norman Group
Colleges and universities face unique web design challenges: large websites with hundreds of sub-sites and thousands of pages, distributed content strategy, and governance systems, and the need to serve multiple distinct audiences. Despite those constraints, you’ll be able to implement many of the guidelines with limited resources and make a huge impact. Armed with these essentials, designers can create a more satisfying and productive experience for visitors.
This seminar will present key findings from usability research conducted on university websites with high school students considering college, prospective graduate students, parents of students, and higher education professionals from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan.
What You’ll Learn
Top questions students and parents ask and how to present the content on your site
What well-designed university websites look like, what they’re doing right
How to avoid usability pitfalls that commonly occur on university websites
Navigation structures suitable for large websites, with hundreds of sub-sites
How to create a cohesive brand without constraining creativity or identity among departments
Topics Covered
Homepage content to inform and support multiple audiences
About the university: Demonstrate uniqueness while providing expected information
Determining fit: How people use university websites to answer their top questions
How to make academic and research programs discoverable
How and where to present employment outcomes to demonstrate value and return on investment
How to present admissions information that is transparent and easy to understand
Student-centered information in the university life section
Navigation decisions: Topic-based and audience-based navigation
Key navigation fixes to improve usability across university sub-sites
The role of third-party sites as sources of information about universities
Note: This online seminar focuses on the highlights of findings from NN/g's University Websites report. This content was also featured in a daylong talk at the UX Conference.
The link to view the online seminar will be emailed to the address used for registration.
About the Speaker
Katie Sherwin is a Senior User Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group. She specializes in helping organizations utilize principles of user-centered design and strategic communication to achieve their goals.
Online Seminar