Higher Ed Website Redesigns: The Less Fun and Perhaps Uncomfortable Parts

It’s easy to write a blog post about a website launch. There’s the expected excitement about something new and wonderful. And let’s face it, finishing a campuswide redesign project brings a certain kind of euphoria that almost anyone is willing to write about. At launch, everyone celebrates the victory. After all, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.” (I now know anything is possible: I’m using an Ann Landers quote in a blog post.)

But this post isn’t a typical announcement about a website relaunch. If you want to read about the UNCSA.edu launch — and you should — we have a portfolio case study on mStoner.com that says it all. Based on early metrics, the new UNCSA.edu is getting stellar results and already achieving the project objectives.

[Tweet “Two things you’ll learn during your website redesign: brand and content. #mStoner”]

This post is about the less fun and perhaps uncomfortable parts of higher ed website redesigns. It’s about the aspects we tend to sweep under the rug in the glory of the new site launch. In this case, it’s about two things you’ll learn along the way.

Revealing your brand in a website redesign requires change (and sometimes change management).

The best websites reveal the brand. They are filled with brand messages that influence the decisions of the audiences you care about. Yes, proclaiming the essence of the UNCSA experience was important — We Promise This. You’ll Do What You Love. But getting there in all areas of the site requires change:

• Campus units need to commit to messaging that speaks to the whole and collaborate on ways to demonstrate the unique and wonderful nuances of their own school, conservatory, or academic unit.
• Internal stakeholders need to adopt the ideas that resonate. They need to understand a little brand strategy to shift their own ways of communicating to key audiences. Writing for the web is real, and you may have to change your communication style to be effective.

Big changes require change management. Humans need help understanding what’s happening, what’s coming next, and what’s going to be different for me. In higher ed, we often feel the frustrations that come from the time required to gather and review campus feedback. It is precisely the communication you do to get the feedback that leads to understanding about why the change is necessary and why the change is good.

The content beast cannot be ignored (if you want something great).

The UNCSA team understood the power of visuals and the impact of video for storytelling. Together, we created and developed a digital platform filled with opportunities to engage and influence key audiences. We all knew the words mattered too, and the mStoner team wrote some of the landing page copy and alumni stories as models for a new approach to copy. During the “build,” it was the campus team who fed the content beast. With skill and commitment, they:

• Directed the photo shoots
• Wrote faculty profiles and prepared faculty head shots
• Collaborated with student filmmakers for video
• Described academic programs (like BFA in Acting)
• And on and on and…

The truth is: Preparing enough high-quality content for a website relaunch takes a whole lot of time and a whole lot of talent. Walk the walk! Prove your understanding of content as king by putting in the work to make it happen on your website.

mStoner salutes the UNCSA team for incredible work!

Thanks to:

• Claire Machamer, director of digital media
• Ward Caldwell, vice provost and dean of student affairs
• Elizabeth White, web producer
• Dave LaVack, business systems analyst, CMS administrator

Want to know more?

Claire and I appeared on Marketing Live to chat about the UNCSA relaunch. Listen in to our conversation about some of the challenges and realities.

Or read mStoner’s case study about our partnership with UNCSA.