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Today’s Tip:

Cut out distractions, cut our everything you can and focus on one task at a time. Ursuline College homepage does an awesome job keeping the top clean and bringing the main navigation front and center. Too many choices can paralyzes your visitors, know the goal for each and every page and play to it. If it takes 1-2 extra clicks to get information so what, user will click more if they are confident.

Show Notes:

• Rate EDU Checkup on iTunes

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Your website visitors don’t have a voice, you have to be their voice. Make sure you always have them in mind. This is the first step to becoming a web rockstar. Knowing your end user and advocating for their needs. Don’t just sit back and let administration take control of your site, the visitor is the reason the site exists, they are in control.

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Today’s Tip:

Make it a point to watch actual visitors use your site for at least two hours per month. It doesn’t sound like a lot but it can make a world of difference. Require everyone in the web area to watch actual users, even it is in the library it can give a perspective that otherwise they wouldn’t have.

Shows Notes:

• Speaking Engagements for 2010

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Today’s Tip:

If your institution mashes up global items with local department items make sure they are labeled or separated appropriately. In this case it was social media icons, the visitor is presented with two sets without labels. It doesn’t seem like a big deal but it can mean the difference in them following the entire university updates instead of the niche departmental updates.

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Today’s Tip:

When presenting program information think about the visitors needs, they need to be able to get to related content quickly. They have drilled far into the site already, there is no need for main navigation items on that page.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Users scroll, it’s a fact; otherwise there wouldn’t be pages deeper than 700 pixels. Make sure your important elements are above the fold, this includes navigation. Although there may be other things on the page the navigation gives the user a frame of reference about where they are and where they can go. More often visitors are coming directly from search engines which means they have about 10 seconds to decide if this is the right place for them. Navigation is a huge factor in orienting someone on your site, make your visitors see it right away.

Looking for Guests:

I am looking for guests to be on the show and review a site with me. And I am looking to you for suggestions! I setup the form below to start gathering recommendations. Nominate anyone you think would have some great insight and can analyze a higher education website constructively. They don’t have to be a big name or even popular.

Suggest a Guest for EDU Checkup

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

If you decide to use icons on your site be sure to use them consistently throughout. Where ever possible use existing icon constructs so your users don’t have to relearn what items on your site mean. For example, on the Denver Seminary site they had very consistent event icons except in one area. When I opened that area I was confused and confusing users is the last thing you want to do.

Looking for Guests:

I am looking for guests to be on the show and review a site with me. And I am looking to you for suggestions! I setup the form below to start gathering recommendations. Nominate anyone you think would have some great insight and can analyze a higher education website constructively. They don’t have to be a big name or even popular.

Suggest a Guest for EDU Checkup

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Keep your users engaged through the entire process. Middlebury did an amazing job with all the related items on the right side of each page and at the bottom of the page. It’s these things that surprise your visitors and show them you care enough to provide important related information. Even if the information isn’t important it makes the page stickier and gives the user something to explore.

Looking for Guests:

I am looking for guests to be on the show and review a site with me. And I am looking to you for suggestions! I setup the form below to start gathering recommendations. Nominate anyone you think would have some great insight and can analyze a higher education website constructively. They don’t have to be a big name or even popular.

Suggest a Guest for EDU Checkup

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

If you are going to have interactive items on your site make sure the user has visual queues to know where they are and how to interact with them. A small arrow to the left or right can denote something will expand or move. Without these queues the user may skip right over the intended function.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Pictures can make or break how engaging your website is. Make sure all photos are relevant and vibrant. Photos from this site you could tell were not just a batch of stock photos. They convinced me these were real students, staff and faculty. Authentic photos build trust.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Don’t let marketing copy get in the way of the user’s goals. If they clicked to see a list of academic programs they shouldn’t be presented with the reasons why they should choose your school. They are already at your site and deciding to see what you have to offer, they don’t need anything more. Once they find a program then maybe throw in why that program is right for them but don’t put up a hoop to jump through before they can get to the actual information they are looking for.

Show Links:

• edUI – half-day workshop at EdUI on how to use advanced website analytics to optimize your designs
  November 8, 2010

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

The downside of using a single template for every one of your pages is that users coming in need to orient themselves within the first few seconds. If they searched for “Art Education” and they get to a page that doesn’t say Art prominently in the header and the images are all generic campus shots they may get confused and leave. You pages should be engaging your students on a personal level. Look at the goals of each page and try to put yourself in the users shoes to see how the images and placement of text would resonate with them.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

If you are going to do something different make sure it is useful. Asbury tried a different css technique to display their menu which attached it to the top of the page as the user scrolled down. They knew that the only thing important at the top of the page is the menu. Why not make it always visible so the user doesn’t have to scroll all the way back up. I think they way they did it was elegant and unobtrusive.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Working across campus can be difficult but dealing with cross department issues is necessary to a successful user experience on your site. Make sure when someone is looking for program information they are not stuck in a bulletin and have to do an additional click to the department site which may or may not have the same information. The program information should be integrated right into the main or department site so the user doesn’t have to bounce around. They should feel like they are working in one complete site.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

At the very least on every program page have a list of the programs offered and the requirements to graduate. This is by far the basic information a prospective student is looking for. Without this information online they will have to call or email someone and waste valuable resource time.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

100% width sites are hard to both scan and read. It might sound great that you can get a lot of information on the page but the more information you pack on the page the harder it is for users to digest it. As monitors are getting larger the worse it will look.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

If you are using tables to list out large around of information make sure there is enough line height between rows so a user can follow information across. If there is a large amount of space between columns it will be beneficial to add alternating background colors (zebra stripes) or a light border at the bottom of each row. The easier it is for your users to scan the table the more likely it is for them to take an action.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

The main focus of an institution’s homepage is to attract prospective students. They are not the only audience but if you had to pick just one, prospective students are the primary. Often areas on campus will try to strong arm their way on to the homepage. Be sure to stay strong on the focus and even if you have to do some simple user studies it will be well worth it to your primary audience.

Show Links:

• April 1 Webinar: Cost-Effective Website Redesign: Renovation Solutions for Your College

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Respect your users control, don’t force movement on the page without them first prompting for it. Many site administrators think “adding movement” to a site will make it look updated. The hard truth is it takes longer to update moving than static content, especially if you produce text/image alternatives. That extra time could be the difference of your site getting updated four times a week compared to eight or ten with static content. In the end you may be doing your site more harm.

Show Links:

• Upcoming Webinar: Cost-Effective Website Redesign: Renovation Solutions for Your College

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

If you’re planning to go over the top to impress prospective students do what Durham did, add a student video testimonial for every program. Just the total man hours to create all the videos would be overwhelming. But, if done right the reward could be an instant connection between a prospect and your institution.