The Fall 2015 semester brings with it a new look for Eastern Illinois University’s website as the Web Office launches the latest iteration of its homepage.
“A redesign is necessary to keep things modern and continue to meet the ever-changing expectations of our prospective students,” explains Ryan Gibson, CATS director of web services. The university website’s last
redesign came in 2012.
“We’re also using all the most recent analytics data to make sure our site is best serving the needs of all users,” says Gibson, referring to research on users’ habits and tendencies when accessing Eastern’s web space.
Jamie Kemp, graphic designer in the Web Office, said the biggest goal for this redesign was to make the site responsive, meaning it will have the same quality and appearance across all different screen sizes.
“We wanted the user to have the same EIU web experience regardless of whether they are exploring our site on an iPhone or a 27-inch HD display,” says Kemp. “With so many other websites becoming responsive and so many web users becoming accustomed to the mobile site being identical to the full site, it was imperative that we bring Eastern up to date.“
“We also wanted to take our homepage and build on the concept to create a space to really sell
Eastern Illinois University to potential students. Now, the homepage will have a good amount of initial
information for that potential student who hasn’t been previously introduced to EIU.”
Along those same lines, increased prominence of “call-to-action” links for applying now and
scheduling a campus visit were an area of emphasis.
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| Screenshot of trending section on EIU's new homepage |
“I wanted those buttons to be one of the first things a new student would see when coming to the site,” says Kemp. “We also wanted to make the
homepage a little more interactive for the viewer; we wanted to have a space for visitors to get a ‘first taste’ of Eastern through the Explore EIU section of the
homepage.
“We have also created a slide-out section that will give users a sense of personal customization by showing them their recently visited pages and recent searches.”
Secondary pages will also see revamping in an effort to make the most sought-after information readily
available and easiest to find for users.
“In the university web world, the more ways you have of finding something, the better your user experience will be,” says Kemp. She adds that not everything will change; prominent homepage links to the A-to-Z Index, PAWS and Panthermail will remain.
“Both our click statistics from last year and our beta testing this year showed there is a large percentage of EIU website users who rely on those links,” said Kemp. “There are some boundaries that should be pushed when designing or updating a website, but at other times, you have to recognize those things that still work and why it’s important to keep them.”
Kemp mentioned beta testing; in the days leading up to the new website’s launch,
prospective students, current students, and faculty members were brought in to give the new site a “dry run” with Web Specialist III Jay Grabiec moderating the proceedings. Grabiec asked each participant to complete various tasks on the website, and their
interaction with the new layout was observed and recorded for the purposes of fine-tuning.
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| Jay Grabeic with student during beta-testing for the website |
“So much of Eastern’s potential student base has grown up using the InternTet; it has become imperative to catch their attention with the website. For many, their first impression of Eastern will be made online. It’s not just about having a nice flyer in a high school counselor’s office anymore. It’s about connecting with them on a digital and personal level and giving them a real reason to visit out campus.
“They may not be able to tell you why a website is bad -- only that it IS bad -- but that is more than enough to turn someone away before they’ve even started exploring. We, at the very least, have to provide them with the same quality they experience through the rest of their web lives in order to stay competitive as a university.”
At the end of the process, Kemp is happy with how the new site has turned out.
“There were a few compromises I’ve had to make along the way, but in the end most of my ‘compromises’ ended up working out better for the overall design and user experience. I think more than anything we have done a better job of telling Eastern’s story and conveying why someone would want to call Eastern Illinois University home.”
For more information regarding this story, please contact: wdwhite@eiu.edu or jlkemp@eiu.edu
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