Analytics, including traffic stats and search logs, helped surface the gaps in a university website's Student Life section.
The Director of Digital Engagement for a major university was considering embarking on a website redesign, and retained me to help out as a consultant. She wanted to prioritize the sections most in need of improvement, and specifically wanted me to take a look at the Student Life section of the website. As she put it, she “wasn’t sure if it was broken.”
I began by looking at an existing content inventory and site map, and some basic analytics including site traffic by page, search frequency by page, and top search terms.
It quickly became obvious that some important content was buried deep – or was nowhere to be found - within the existing IA (for example, the book store was hosted on a 3rd party website, and could not be accessed through the main navigation structure). It also appeared that some labels for subcategory navigation were less than intuitive; users searched for specific content within one subcategory when that content existed in another.
Based on these findings, I proposed reorganizing the IA using slightly different sub-categories with revised labels. I prepared a new site map that moved important content higher up in the IA, and used color codes to show how content could be reorganized under the new sub-categories. I also proposed making important content more accessible by placing prominent direct links on high-traffic pages. And finally, I provided specific instructions for conducting a card sort exercise to test the revised labels and IA in order to confirm these recommendations, or revise them, before moving ahead.
Some revisions were made to the proposed strategy as a result card sort, and the end result was a redesigned Student Life section with a much cleaner, clearer navigation structure and IA.
Student Life Section Site Map: Pre-Existing IA
Student Life Section Hub: Pre-Existing Page
Student Life Section Site Map: Updated IA
Student Life Section Hub: Updated Page
