WORDPRESS WEB PROJECT

Information Architecture and User Experience Recommendations

February 19, 2014 Kate Winsor

The Digital Status Quo

“…the evolution of mobile, social, video and Web publishing are transforming the way higher education engages students online. There's a growing sense of urgency from higher education leaders I talk to that the digital status quo is unacceptable.”

-Jeff Cam, Why Are Colleges Flunking Web Strategy 101? http://www.fastcompany.com/1694328/why-are-colleges-flunking-web-strategy-101

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Site Goals for the End User

  Easy access to information that is important to the user

  Easy to navigate, informational and transactional   Clear and concise, easily search-able, things

grouped by content, very few clicks to get from point A to point B, don’t split up information

  Up-to-date information   Encourage users to take action

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Information Architecture Process

  Create inventory of existing content   Review current analytical data   Analyze competitors and review other higher education

websites   Create a new, efficient site structure that is easy to

maintain   Reallocate content pages to new site structure   Make content easily accessible:

 Content should follow a logical and intuitive path  Grouped so that the hierarchy is balanced and uncluttered

  Create consistencies among college content

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Browser Traffic Screen Resolutions Most Visited Pages

Google Analytics 5

Browser Traffic: Jan 1, 2013 to Feb 1, 2014

Internet Explorer Chrome Safari Firefox Android Browser Mozilla Safari (in-app) IE with Chrome Frame Amazon Silk Opera

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Internet Explorer 40%

Screen Resolution: Jan 1, 2013 to Feb 1, 2014

1366x768 1280x800 1440x900 1920x1080 1280x1024 1024x768 1600x900 1680x1050 768x1024 320x480

1366x768 27%

320x480 5%

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Top 25 Pages: Jan 1, 2013 to Feb 1, 2014

Page Pageviews / 3,543,437 /current-students/ 1,538,495 /faculty-staff/ 357,409 /email.shtml 341,948 /future-students/ 149,901 /degrees.shtml 138,464 /services/counseling/resume/phrases.html 128,735 /future-students/onlinedegrees.shtml 85,619 /services/museums/miles-mineral/diamond.shtml 61,064 /academics/class-schedule/ 57,357 /future-students/applyNow.html 46,516 /academics/library/index.shtml 46,358 /about/directory/people-search.php 44,914 /future-students/tuition/index.shtml 38,747 /academics/library/periodicals.shtml 36,570 /calendar/ 35,642 /academics/resources/degrees/degree-plans.shtml 34,823 /current-students/important_dates.html 34,521 /services/counseling/student/index.php 32,766 /services/hr/ 30,969 /academics/assessment/faculty/manual/verb_list.shtml 26,321 /mba/online/index.shtml 23,602 /athletics/index.php 23,333 /mba/online/degree-plan-requirements.shtml 20,291 /parents-visitors/ 19,938

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New Mexico Highlands University Western New Mexico University New Mexico State University University of New Mexico New Mexico Tech West Texas A&M Texas Tech Wayland Baptist Lubbock Christian University

Competitors 9

Main Navigation

Staying somewhat consistent with most college’s site navigation decreases site learning curve.

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Secondary Navigation 11

Sitemap Information Architecture Content Strategy Wireframes Wordpress Template

New Site Recommendations 12

Sitemap * Please keep in mind that a sitemap does not indicate page flow.

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New Information Architecture

  Existing content has been re-distributed to new architecture

  This content will need to be reviewed with stakeholders for accuracy and be refreshed as needed  Content can also be re-organized or flagged for

removal  Recommend only three levels of navigation, exclusive of

in page body links

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How You Can Use This IA

  Future content planning, long-term strategy   Track content updates needed for launch   Track delivery of content from various team

members for launch   Facilitate section reviews with stakeholder groups   Track and remove out-of-date or incorrect content

pages

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New Site Requirements

  Wordpress Content Management System   Responsive/mobile friendly   ADA compliant   SEO optimized

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Site Content Strategy

  Take the focus off the entry and exit pages  Home Page, Request Information and Apply

  The “middle” contains pages that are highly influential in the journey and decision process

  Show users WHY  Why visit  Why apply  Why attend  Why give

  Showcase people, programs and proof

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Topical/Thematic Overlay

Every school has signature features that truly differentiate it from other schools. Celebrate them.

 Personal Touch  Affordable  Community and belonging  Success

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Homepage

  Large, very visual featured content area focused on key themes and messaging   Show students what they can do with

an ENMU education   Highlight students who attend ENMU   Showcase faculty who work at ENMU   Be transparent about what it is like to

attend ENMU   Showcase campus and location

  Three calls to action to drive the user to act

  Use syndicated and dynamic content, like news, events and social media while being flexible when sourcing content for these areas

  Fat footer with commonly accessed links

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Homepage, Responsive View

Dubbed the “mostly fluid” responsive design pattern by Luke Wroblewski, the multi-column layout scales from large screens down to small screens by stacking columns vertically in its narrowest incarnations. The core structure of the layout does not really change until the smallest screen by using fluid grids to adapt to a variety of screen sizes:

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Degree Programs

  Create one central location for all degree information   All college sites will link to this page

  Take responsibility off individual programs for maintaining content

  Supplement degree plan documentation with value-added content:   Program description   Career areas   Popular minors

  Present content that relates topically without forcing the user to jump all around the site

  Include advisor contact information and a contact form

  Best in class examples:   http://www.smcvt.edu/Academics/

Majors-Minors-and-Curriculum/Accounting.aspx

  http://www.clemson.edu/majors/marketing

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Visit

  Getting a prospective student on campus for a tour significantly increases the likelihood of enrollment

  Build excitement around the campus visit before the prospective student arrives

  Use this opportunity to differentiate the campus visit   Informational  Experiential  Transactional

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Visit

Make the form great.

And mobile.

Help the planning process. Show off some of the great things to do in Portales other

than visit the campus.

A visit section instead of one long page. Let the student know what to expect, when

the sessions are and who will be showing them around.

Informational Experiential Transactional

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Social

  Integrate with a social strategy, not just randomly

  Keep users on the site:   Include dynamic student feeds in the

Student Life section

  Flickr/Instagram feed of crowd sourced campus photos

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Footer

  Persistent on very page   Add visit to the footer   High-value page links   Contact form for quick information requests

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College Sites

  Streamline content across all colleges by creating consistent site structures

  Visually differentiate college sites from university site

  Highlight departments and faculty, college accomplishments and programs

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Template: Avada

http://theme-fusion.com/avada/

To ease the burden of development, allow the communications team to focus on content and meet the launch deadline, purchasing Wordpress template that comes with many built-in features is recommended. This will ensure a quality product in a short amount of time, will assist developers who are unfamiliar with the Wordpress engine, and standardize coding.

The Avada template is recommended for its robust features, fully customizable template and clean design.

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Why Use Avada Template

  Easy installation and setup   Fully responsive and touch enabled   Completely customizable   Cross-Browser Compatibility: FireFox, Safari, Chrome, IE8, IE9, IE10   Built with HTML5 and CSS3   60 Layered PSDs for customization   SEO optimized   Advanced administrative controls   Shortcode builder   Extensive documentation and support

http://theme-fusion.com/avada/why-avada/

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Additional Resources

  http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/08/04/websites   http://www.slideshare.net/ThePrimacy/improving-the-top-five-high-

value-pages-of-your-website   http://www.slideshare.net/ThePrimacy/primacy-igxuc13-usingtopics   http://collegewebeditor.com/blog/index.php/archives/

2011/11/16/top-first-responsive-websites-in-highered/   http://www.slideshare.net/cgrymala/word-press-in-higher-ed   http://wphighed.org/category/site-gallery/   http://kelchenoneducation.wordpress.com/2013/06/19/the-vast-

array-of-net-price-calculators/   http://www.slideshare.net/epublishmedia/making-better-decisions-

with-web-analytics-4342776

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THANK YOU!