Friday, August 19, 2005
Improved USI homepage launched
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Web Services has unveiled a redesigned USI homepage with Flash animation, more news, an increased focus on events, and better functionality. “Every few years, Web Services likes to take a look at the Web site and see what areas should be changed or updated,” said Brandi Hess, Web designer. “We interview people in different departments across campus to see what they like and don’t like, and what they’d like to see changed.” The homepage features two animated feature stories at a time. “The Flash animation was something the Web team wanted to try out,” Hess said. “Everyone likes the features. On the former site they randomly loaded, and people liked that the features changed so that there was something new on the site every time they visited. It encouraged repeat visits. The animation creates more attention to the homepage and allows for multiple features to be viewed at one time, rather than one per visit on the former site.” The Flash animation will not disrupt the ability of users without the right plug-ins to view the site. “Sometimes users don’t have the capability to see Flash animation on Web pages, because of outdated computers or other issues,” Hess said. “To accommodate that, we’ve programmed the new homepage to check whether they have the appropriate plug-ins. If not, they see a general campus shot and aren’t aware they’re missing the Flash animation. “We don’t want users to receive annoying error messages and leave the site with a negative experience.” The “In the News” section showcases a small lead-in to each headline that invites the reader to follow the link to the complete story. Campus events have a permanent home on the front page, populated from the online campus calendar. This feature creates greater exposure for campus activities, guest speakers, and academic deadlines. Events for two days are on the page, keeping today’s and tomorrow’s events before visitors. The events link to the comprehensive calendar for more event details. “Whether the viewer is a student or a member of the general public, the addition of events draws more attention to campus activities,” Hess said. “Many times the events are related to news releases, so they also draw attention to the news.” Faculty and staff are encouraged to take advantage of the increased visibility by remembering to enter events in the online campus calendar. The new design also features increased functionality with a menu bar targeted for the different audience groups that visit the USI homepage. The menus offer commonly sought after links to departments, forms, and other information specific to each group. “We have several audience groups that visit our site. Prospective students, current students, parents, employees, media, alumni, donors, and opinion leaders go to the University site. The menu across the top will help people find what they are looking for more easily.” The “Everything @ USI” drop-down box and the Google search box remain prominent navigation features of the homepage. The new design has been a year in the works. “Last month we did usability testing with participants from different audience groups,” Hess said. “That helped us get an idea of areas where people were having difficulty navigating through. The results were good. We just had a few changes to make, and now we’re ready to launch.” |
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