Function
A guy named Ken Kelleher did some research on university websites a few years back. From his study, he came up with a few important bullet points in creating a functional, navigable site.
The biggest problem, Kelleher says, is an ailment known as ICCMUT. No, it's not a disease. It actually stands for Immense Content Challenges with Multiple User Types.
Think about it. As much as I'd like to think the world revolves around current students, that group is just a sliver of the pie. Universities have large and diverse audiences that include:
- the prospective undergrad student (the picky kids frowning on the campus tour)
- the current undergrad student (me and 3,000 of my closest friends, all vying to get on the web version of BUBBS e-mail)
- the prospective grad student (the earnest pastor-to-be prayerfully checking out Talbot)
- the current grad student (the earnest pastor-to-be prayerfully attending Talbot and taking up way too much study space in the library)
- alumni (tearfully reminiscing about their alma mater)
- current faculty (signing up for workshops, maybe? I dunno...)
- current staff (uhhh...)
- parents (being nosy)
- visitors (who heard the name on Nightline... or maybe in regards to missing silverware)
- potential staff and faculty (checking out the doctrinal statement)
- local community visitors interested in news, events, etc (Eaglesports fans)
- researchers (journalists)
- investors (laudable donors)
Kelleher points out that "Users are interested in accessing information relevant to their purpose in an efficient manner that is user friendly." A visitor wants thorough information and they want it fast. Oh, and the scenery had better be pretty along the way.
The best way to be user-friendly, according to this research, is to have a PRIMARY NAVIGATION system, with a parent navigation bar (fixed categories running along the top) and a child navigation bar (a sidebar which changes depending on what page you're on).
And second, a site needs a UTILITY NAVIGATION system, which includes necessities like a search feature, campus map, index, etc. Though it's a few years old and the design is dated, here's an example of how to structure a site to allow for natural navigation.
Form
But after function comes form. The site needs to catch the eye, focus the eye and guide the eye. All those searchable lists and all that text need to be arranged legibly and elegantly. Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton explain how in their Web Style Guide.
Now that the rules are set, let's examine some of the top contenders among University sites.
And just for a sneak peek, check out one of the sites voted Best University Website of 2006 by the Web Marketing Association.
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