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.]