NC State Launches Redesigned Web Site
By Mick Kulikowski, News Services
More than 100 new pages. Easier navigation. An impressive array of multimedia features and interactivity. Countless hours of interdepartmental committee meetings. Thinking and rethinking decisions. Months of work.
Now, North Carolina State University’s newly redesigned Web site is online.
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More than just a pretty face: In addition to a brand new look, NC State's redesigned Web site boasts a wide range of content, multimedia features and interactive elements that will appeal to today's Web-savvy audience. Photo Roger Winstead. |
The new site tells the story of life at NC State in a different way. Users will find superior navigation – including customizable “Quicklinks” that will help frequent users tailor the site to their needs – numerous video choices and feature items that portray the university’s people, research and service.
“We think that the use of more photography, video and engaging content gives a more vibrant picture of the character of our university community,” said Debbie Griffith, associate vice chancellor for public affairs. “It will give prospective students and prospective new employees a window into what life will be like for them at NC State, and it will give faculty and staff a much better view of the diversity of activities all across campus, not just in their college or unit.”
The new Web site includes a top tier of nearly 100 new pages as well as image-based slideshows to go along with the feature and video stories. A number of short “brights” sprinkled across the home page will provide fun facts and trivia, as well as some surprising things you might not have known about NC State.
“One of the primary goals in rebuilding the new site is to convey all of the great things that are happening on NC State’s campus on a daily basis,” said Jason Simon, director of NC State’s creative services department. “NC State students, faculty and staff are engaged in interesting activities that truly make a difference. With the new site we are able to highlight some of these stories and do so in a compelling way with video and other multimedia. The prominence of these stories in the new design also shares some of that character of NC State with external audiences.”
In the beginning
The Web site redesign process started when Chancellor James Oblinger appointed a 30-person Web site advisory committee that included faculty, staff and students in March 2006. The committee provided leadership and input on the project while the university’s public affairs unit worked directly with Ripple Effects Interactive, one of the nation’s top interactive agencies, to fully develop and implement the site.
“The Internet has become the single most powerful communication tool we have for conveying all the excitement found at NC State,” Griffith said. “We’re proud of our accomplishments in technology, so we wanted a Web site that matched our technological reputation, and really captured our university’s character. Chancellor Oblinger challenged us to deliver on that goal, and our committee really put a lot of effort and energy into it.”
Tom Karches, an NC State Web systems administrator who served on the Web advisory committee, has experienced several Web redesigns at NC State. Previous redesigns were more cosmetic, he said, and didn’t include new technologies or resources – or much feedback.
“One of the biggest differences was in the use of focus groups that were not used in earlier incarnations,” he said.
Kate Tomlinson, client services director at Ripple Effects Interactive, says her firm’s interactions with NC State’s Web advisory committee were unique.
“NC State made sure there were many voices heard during the process, from our initial discovery meetings with faculty, staff, admissions, students, alumni, and other groups, through the design and development processes,” she said. “The professionals we worked with at NC State understood how intricate the redesign process is, took ownership and paid amazing attention to detail. Clients who don’t grasp the complexity or really think about what they want during the design process aren’t as satisfied with the end product. NC State took the time to figure out its vision and set up an organization and processes to support the site during the production process and to be able to continually evolve it over time.”
Jenna Eason is a senior textile technology and art and design major who served on the advisory committee. She said that her fellow college students want easy navigation and a sign that the university changes with the times.
“We are the generation that wants information and we want it fast, which means no time to adjust to ‘unnecessary’ changes,” Eason said. “While your first visit to this site may take an extra minute of your time, the content is all there, the layout is easy to follow and it quickly feels familiar. The other common reaction from the students is that they are glad NC State is changing with the times.”
Prospective high school students and users from older generations want different things from a Web site, though, Eason said. Prospective students “judge a book by its cover,” she said, so they should be drawn by the site’s personality and inviting nature.
“I believe that the new ncsu.edu site is the best culmination of the information collected since the committee was initiated,” Eason said. “We have made tremendous effort to balance what each individual wants and expects from a university Web page, and I believe we have done so successfully.”
The “soft” launch
During the development and redesign process, a university Web page detailed the ongoing work of the committee, and included a blog that solicited input from the campus community.
The new site has been accessible to users since the July 16 beta, or “soft,” launch.
“Because the site has so much new content and is so different from the current site, we wanted to give people, particularly those on campus, an opportunity to get used to the new site before it goes live,” Simon said.
The monthlong beta launch phase also gave site developers an opportunity to address any problems or technical issues prior to officially replacing the current site.
“We received some substantial feedback throughout the beta launch, which was exactly what we had hoped for,” Simon said. “Some feedback was specific to things that people had expected to find on particular pages or comments on information that should be added.
“One of the most fundamental changes we have made based on the feedback was altering the main Flash promotional area on the home page,” Simon continued. “People were having a hard time reading the type on the background image and then were overwhelmed by the amount of content in that section. We have tried to simplify the area and, once again, help in navigating to specific parts of the ncsu.edu domain related to content users are reading.”
Web site advisory committee members hope that the site will differentiate NC State from other universities, creating a unique experience that enlightens and entertains.
“It is our hope that our redesign makes us unique and different among other colleges and universities,” Simon said. “We have tried to really make some initial strides in building a true sense of community through the home page, featuring unique and individual stories, allowing users to submit content and story ideas and making an effort to include video and other multimedia.
“I think the video features, in particular, are unique among higher education. Not only are we using video, we’re doing so in a prominent and compelling way. A recent Pew Internet report showed that 57 percent of adult Internet users report watching or downloading online video content. Within that, 76 percent of 18- to 29-year-old users report using or watching online video. With current and prospective students being such a focus of the new site, I think we’ll see that the video content will be among the most viewed parts of the site.”
Less paper, more Web
Griffith stressed that the site launch is not the end of the process, but a continuation of a plan to update and further develop Web communications. Other Web communications pieces planned for launch in the near future include separate electronic communications for both employees and external audiences and a redesign for news.ncsu.edu, the university news site launched last August.
“Our Web site is going to continually evolve,” Griffith said. “We will add new features, new multimedia elements, new mini-sites, and all sorts of other tools related to new and emerging technology.”
To enable the continued development and maintenance of the site, the Web committee recommended hiring dedicated staff. With support from Oblinger, a four-person staff has been approved and funded within the public affairs unit.
“With nearly 4 million visitors to the NC State home page monthly, there is a tremendous opportunity to use the main Web site as a powerful communication tool,” Simon said. “While wanting to make sure that we made it easy for those users who are looking for specific information, we also hope to provide some interesting and engaging content that tells the story of the great things that are happening on our campus. NC State is making a critical difference in education, research and extension. The Web gives us a highly visible way to share that story.”
If you have comments, questions or general feedback about the new site, send an e-mail to web_feedback@ncsu.edu.