Web Strategy and Development Blog

The latest on academic website redesigns

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Over the past year, many of Missouri State’s academic websites have undergone redesigns.

Here’s a recap of what we’ve done and what’s ahead.

MCHHS websites

As part of a comprehensive marketing project with the college, many of the redesigns have focused on the McQueary College of Health and Human Services and its departments.

We started with the college site and went from this:

Homepage of former McQueary College of Health and Human Services website.
Previous MCHHS homepage.

To this:

Homepage of McQueary College of Health and Human Services website.
New homepage highlights MCHHS’s degree programs.

The new MCHHS website went live last fall.

By the numbers

The success of the MCHHS redesign is shown in the numbers.

Through Google Analytics, we compared a three-period for the website: pre-redesign and post-redesign.

Highlights include:

  • The removal of outdated pages cutting down on unwanted or misguided traffic.
    • Bounce rate is down from 83% to 28%.
    • Session duration is up from 1:09 to 1:32.
  • Site traffic is more qualified. Our users are more likely to find what they need. Top page views were:
  • Major reduction of bounce rates on all devices. Especially mobile (reduced to 29% from 87%).
  • Pre-redesign, there were top referrers that looked to be internal (Word, Teamwork) and now those referrers are what they should be: Google, search.missouristate, direct, Twitter, Facebook.

Going forward, we plan to continue emphasizing analytics in our redesign strategy.

More on MCHHS

We’ve also completed recent redesigns for two MCHHS departments: the School of Nursing and the new public health and sports medicine department.

These new websites feature the key aspects of our redesign strategies over the past 12 months:

  • Concise, SEO-friendly messaging (using terms like “major” and “degree” more often) on the homepage and program pages. Example: BSN-Completion for nursing.
  • Prominent call-to-action (CTA) buttons.
  • Less clutter overall and a more more-friendly website.

Over the next 18-24 months, all department websites under MCHHS will undergo redesigns.

Other redesigned websites

Key highlights for journalism program on media, journalism and film website.
The journalism section of the redesigned media, journalism and film website. Each degree program on redesigned sites has a “Why earn this degree?” section that uses photography to highlight its unique aspects.

Through the academic website project, several other departments and programs have undergone redesigns over the last year as well.

Defense and strategic studies got a much-needed refresh. The new website highlights DSS’s unique programs and location (Washington, D.C.)

Other redesigns since 2020 include:

What’s ahead

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down our redesign workflow.

In the coming months, we’re hoping to pick up our usual pace and continue these redesigns, which we normally rotate among Missouri State’s eight colleges.

Learn more about the Academic Website Project.

Redesigned kinesiology website: A fresh look for active programs

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The redesigned kinesiology website recently launched. It’s the latest outcome of the Academic Website Project.

Academic websites have a tremendous influence on the college search process. Redesigns provide new content, design and photo/video elements.

Three specific areas we improved on kinesiology were:

Photography

Students in kinesiology undergraduate programs
All five of kinesiology’s undergraduate degree programs have hands-on learning opportunities for students.

Kinesiology has eight overall degree programs. However, the department lacked current photos.

Through several photo sessions, we gave the kinesiology website an appearance overhaul.

Getting new photos creates an accurate depiction of their programs.

Respiratory therapy students during a class.
The respiratory therapy program includes a clinical portion.

Clear application/admission language

We made it easier for future students to major in a kinesiology program.

Each program sub-site has prominent call-to-action (CTA) buttons that aid recruiting efforts. For undergraduate programs:

  • First, apply to Missouri State
  • Then, declare your major (to a kinesiology program)

The application/admission process is a bit different for graduate programs, but the concept we used remained the same.

Track options

Four of kinesiology’s five undergraduate programs include track options or emphasis areas, which are specific areas of focus within the overall program.

We wanted to make these options better known.

Track options/emphasis areas now have feature blocks that provide more information about that specific area and its outcomes.

Site credits

  • Project lead and content: Kai Raymer, content strategist in web strategy and development
  • Photography: Bob Linder, Kevin White and Jesse Scheve, visual media
  • Videography: Carter Williams, student videographer in web strategy and development
  • Design: Abby Isackson, graphic designer in editorial and design services
  • Editors: Sara Clark, director in web strategy and development and Nicki Donnelson, assistant director of university communications
  • Implementation: Student coders Alyson Jones and Nikki Jenkins along with Brian Heaton, content management programmer/analyst, in web strategy and development
  • Client: Dr. Sarah McCallister, kinesiology department head

Redesigned Doctor of Pharmacy website: Connecting one program at two schools

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The redesigned doctor of pharmacy website recently launched. It’s the latest outcome of the Academic Website Project.

Academic websites have a tremendous influence on the college search process. Redesigns provide new content, design and photo/video elements.

Three specific areas we targeted for improvement on pharmacy were:

Content

Top part of Doctor of Pharmacy's Admission and Application Requirements page.
The admission and application requirements page details how students qualify for, and apply to, the program.

The previous pharmacy website only had a handful of pages. We built the new site from the ground up, which meant creating and formatting content for pages like:

Most users access a website to solve a problem.

Creating these pages helped answer crucial questions such as how to apply and how to finish the program, and how to get financial help.

Through reverse transfer, you can even complete your Missouri State bachelor’s degree while you’re in the program.

We kept duplicate content to a minimum. Most links refer back to the UMKC website, which lessens the chances for content becoming outdated.

Clarity

Details about collaborative program on Doctor of Pharmacy homepage.
The intro message on the Doctor of Pharmacy website notes that it’s a collaborative program.

Pharmacy is a collaborative program between the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and Missouri State.

You’re part Kangaroo, part Bear.

You take UMKC pharmacy courses at the Missouri State site in Springfield. UMKC provides the scholarships and financial aid.

You have access to Missouri State student resources and services, but you end up with a UMKC Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree.

We wanted to make this unique partnership clear throughout the site.

Multimedia

The Careers and Outcomes page includes a video detailing what you can do with a pharmacy degree.

We shined a new light on the program with photo sessions, video packages and Spotlight stories.

Photos of students in the Doctor of Pharmacy program.
New photography highlights degree options and where graduates of the program can work.

Site credits

  • Project lead and content: Kai Raymer, content strategist in web strategy and development
  • Photography: Kevin White and Jesse Scheve, visual media
  • Videography: Carter Williams, student videographer in web strategy and development
  • Design: Veronica Adinegara, senior graphic designer in editorial and design services
  • Editors: Sara Clark, director in web strategy and development and Andrea Mostyn, director of university communications
  • Implementation: Student coders Alyson Jones and Nikki Jenkins along with Brian Heaton, content management programmer/analyst in web strategy and development
  • Client: Paul Gubbins, Associate Dean Vice Chair and Professor of UMKC School of Pharmacy

Mobile-friendly academic website conversions: Spring semester progress

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Campus scene with many students on mobile phonesMobile usage is growing exponentially — particularly among our largest demographics of prospective students, Millennials and Gen Z.

Last year, Google experienced two mobile milestones:

  • The mobile tipping point, in which the number of mobile searches in the U.S. surpassed searches on PCs
  • Mobilegeddon, a change to the Google search algorithm that benefits mobile-friendly websites over their non-mobile-friendly counterparts

Academic websites converting to mobile

In response to the growing need to reach our audience on mobile devices, we began the process of converting all academic department websites to a mobile-friendly format in 2015.

The conversion process is not a complete redesign. Instead, it converts each site to the mobile template and reorganizes existing content for consumption on mobile devices.

Like the academic website redesigns, conversions are funded by the provost’s office and processed on a college-by-college rotation according to the deans’ prioritization.

Websites that are converted to the mobile-friendly template will later undergo redesign, during which new content, multimedia elements and design elements will be created. This two-step process allows our office to optimize all academic websites for mobile consumption as quickly as possible.

Progress in the first half of 2016

During the first six months of this year, we published the following mobile-friendly website conversions:

Progress anticipated for the second half of 2016

An additional 14 academic websites are either currently in conversion or scheduled to begin the process before the start of the fall semester. We expect all of these conversions to be published during the first half of the fall semester.

Redesigned biology website: Diverse programs in a mobile-friendly format

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The redesigned biology website recently launched as part of the Academic Website Project. It is the fifth academic website to receive a full redesign for the mobile-friendly template, a process that includes the creation of new content, design and multimedia elements.

Clarifying programs and resources

The biology department is home to a diverse range of programs and research centers. Given the options and opportunities for prospective students, providing clarity became a focus of the redesign.

Each program now has its own sub-section on the website, where information regarding that program is gathered.

The department’s research centers — meaningful recruitment tools — are highlighted in a prominent section of the website’s homepage. The Facilities and Resources page then features expanded descriptions of each center.

The research centers of the biology department, as featured on the homepage

Photo and description of the Gulf Coast Research Lab, as depicted on the facilities and resources page

Using video resources

This redesign included the creation of one new video, which highlights the department’s emphasis on research:

In addition, we were able to leverage videos that were created for other purposes. For example, the following video of a biology alumnus became a valuable addition to the Careers and Outcomes page for the Master of Science in Biology.

Site credits

  • Project lead and content: Lucie Amberg, new media specialist in the office of Web and new media
  • Design: Veronica Adinegara, senior graphic designer in the office of publications
  • Photography: Kevin White, senior photographer in photo services
  • Videography: Sara Silkwood, videographer in photo services
  • Editor: Nicki Donnelson, public relations specialist in University communications
  • Implementation: Brian Heaton, content management programmer in the office of Web and new media, with Lucie Amberg and Sara Clark, director of the office of Web and new media, and student coder Max Orlando