Tomorrow visitors will see a new Case Western Reserve University—at least online.
By the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 27, the homepage at case.edu will feature a dramatic redesign aimed at improving the experience of every user who visits.
The makeover marks the first major change to the site in more than five years, and comes after months of engagement with campus stakeholders, alumni and parents. Perhaps the most significant shift is that the homepage no longer seeks to serve multiple audiences at once; instead, it focuses first on viewers from outside the university.
Another major change in the homepage is that it is responsive. This design approach means that the appearance of the site adjusts to the type of device used to view it—laptop/desktop, tablet or smartphone. Mobile devices have become more and more ubiquitous in recent years, and forecasts say their sales will outpace those of laptops and desktops as early as next year. Case Western Reserve needs a site designed for this reality, and the new homepage is.
Why? Because an organization’s homepage is its online front door, the place where millions of visitors get their first glimpse of the institution and begin to form opinions about it. This approach not only is best practice, but also was urged by those with whom University Marketing and Communications (UMC) consulted during the planning process. People overwhelmingly emphasized the need to convey Case Western Reserve’s prestige and stature as a university; nearly as important, they said, is showing the full breadth of the campus experience in a visually compelling way.
As a result, one of the first qualities of the site that people will notice is that the rectangular banner has been replaced by a much larger photograph. Another is that the homepage has somewhat fewer navigation options. Rather than pack so many choices into one finite space, the homepage instead will direct users to pages designed specifically for their needs. These pages—for faculty, staff, students and alumni—each include resources targeted to areas they are most likely to visit; for example, the faculty site includes among its top links “Research Resources,” “Blackboard” and “HCM.”
As much thought as UMC staff put into the new site and top-level pages, they also know no effort is perfect. The time period between tomorrow and the end of the semester is a “beta” phase, in which all users are encouraged to offer comments and suggestions. Some recommended steps may be so imperative that they take place right away, while others will require more consideration before decisions are made. One of the best aspects of a website is that it is not a published book where updates await the next printing; rather, updates can take place immediately, and at any time.
General comments or suggestions can be made at case.edu/feedback. Comments regarding the faculty resource page can be made through this form. Observations about the staff resource page can be made through this form. And students can make recommendations on their resource page through this form.
All of these feedback links also will be available on the homepage and individual resource pages.