University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

The redesigned home page aims to support student and faculty recruitment by showcasing the “UB experience” and positioning the university as a leader in research, teaching and global outreach.

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Check out UB’s new home page. Let us know what you think by posting feedback and suggestions to the redesign blog.

By SUE WUETCHER

Published: June 9, 2011

The first phase of UB’s new home page debuts today, offering a variety of features designed to reflect the university’s unique culture and identity while enabling users to find information quickly.

Phases two and three, to come over the summer and fall, will bring greater functionality and depth to UB’s overall Web presence.

The first redesign of the university’s main Web presence in six years, the home page aims to support recruitment of students and faculty, as well as other key institutional objectives, by showcasing the “UB experience” and positioning the university as a leader in research, teaching and global outreach. Other goals of the site redesign are to deepen UB’s relationships with its constituents and provide easy access to university resources and services.

A dynamic Web presence is critical to a university’s ability to recruit students. For many students, looking at a college website is their primary way of collecting information about a school before they apply.

More than a year in the making, the redesign of UB’s home page was led by University Communications in conjunction with partners from across the university, among them Computing and Information Technology, Undergraduate Admissions, Student Affairs and Web Services. The project team was supported by a senior-level advisory group that included representatives of the faculty, the Office of the Provost, Development and Alumni Relations, Undergraduate Education, International Education and the Graduate School.

The new site was built on the new UBCMS technology, which will serve as the online communications platform across the university. The redesign completely overhauled the previous home page and added new, top-level pages that introduce five key topics: academic excellence, admissions options, research, UB's global reach and “life at UB.”

Specifically, the revamped site includes:

• Links in the header to audience-based pages that provide current students, faculty and donors with quick access to resources.
• A “quicklinks” bar that takes prospective students, parents and visitors to information they are most interested in, such as admission requirements, costs and financial aid, and campus maps.
• Instant navigation to topic pages that serve as gateways to information on major areas of interest, such as academics, research, global reach, life at UB and admissions.
• An in-depth, feature story that runs prominently across the top of the page. This “perception-building” story aims to build pride in the institution, highlighting how the work and learning that is done at UB makes a positive difference in the world.
• A four-column story well that showcases what life is like at UB through links to news releases, featured events and other announcements, faculty, student and alumni profiles, and stories showing what life is like outside the classroom.
• A section called “Getting to Know UB,” which includes links to facts and figures about the university, a virtual tour of the three campuses, information on the Buffalo-Niagara region and a page that demonstrates the impact of UB research.
• A “fat footer” that provides links to schools and colleges, social media and campus directories.

“I am very pleased by the work of the project team,” says Joseph Brennan, associate vice president for university communications. “They’ve taken a strategic, research-based approach to creating a web presence that better meets the needs of our web visitors.

“I am looking forward to the next set of enhancements.”

The redesign of the site was based on extensive research on user needs, including interviews with more than 300 faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members and prospective students. The research also included examining about 100 other university home pages—from both current and aspirational peers—to see how other institutions approach branding, content and layout, and how they use social and mobile media.

Although the new home page launches today, redesign team members will continue to enrich the site, adding new pages for audiences and topics, integrating multimedia and further developing information and wayfinding services, such as the search function, the universitywide calendar and directories.

The team also will work to make the site more accessible across all platforms, including delivery through smart phone browsers and other mobile applications.

Research suggests that a university’s website often is the first place that prospective students and faculty go to evaluate the caliber of an institute. What they see on the Web informs their perception of a school and what their life there might be like.

Moreover, corporate partners, donors and alumni—anyone seeking a connection with a university—frequently turn to the Internet to gauge a university’s quality and priorities.

In a national survey of prospective students by higher education consulting firm Noel-Levitz, 88 percent of respondents said they would drop a school from their search, or be disappointed with a school if that institution’s website did not have the content they needed. Nearly a quarter of respondents said they would drop a school from consideration if they had a bad experience on its website.

Members of the university community are encouraged to offer their feedback and suggestions about the revamped home page as the redesign team continues to refine UB’s main Web presence. Comments can be posted to the redesign blog.