University of Connecticut Enrichment Programs has 7 separate websites, encompassing a wide variety of student services. In 2012 I managed a complete redesign of all seven sites to a WordPress multisite.
Before:
- Original websites were classic table-based HTML with long and complex menus.
- Text was dense, and navigation was difficult. Often navigation was table-based within the content.
- No calendar feature; all events were entered by hand multiple times for each site and university calendar.
- No news or RSS feeds. No sharing between sites other than manual entry.
- No integration of social media for most sites.
- Few or no images.
- No search feature.
What changed:
- Content audit and redesign of navigation
- Moved to to WordPress CMS with multiple templates for flexible design
- Contracted with a developer to create custom search and other code
After:
- The sites have a cleaner, easier to read design, with images used to create a friendlier feel.
- Dynamic menus have multiple levels, rather than one long list.
- Calendar is fed from the main university calendar, so events are only entered once and automatically post to appropriate website.
- A news feature displays on the main page automatically via RSS feed.
- Search feature prominent, and allows either search of individual site or full university site
- Calendar and news feeds allow each website to share events and display content from other Enrichment sites automatically
- Social media streams were integrated into the design of the sites
[Keep in mind that once my work is done, web sites may be altered significantly as the needs of the organization changes, and as web technology improves.]
