The University’s website is about to get a facelift. Several departments are working to make the website more user-friendly, with changes being executed in two phases, the first of which will involve fundamental revisions to the way the website operates.
“University Communications is primarily responsible for the University website,” said Ganesan Ravishanker, Associate Vice President for Information Technology Services (ITS), in an e-mail to the Argus. “The New Media Lab from ITS is a strong partner in the web redesign.”
Currently, the team is collaborating with site owners to make it easier to access frequently used links, expand the capabilities of the search function, and to establish an archive of older links.
Some changes have already been implemented. The existing website now has more frequent updates of current news headlines, more text links to outside pages—including one for the Wesleyan magazine—and four images on the homepage that link to information about University events and news.
“Day to day functionality must be kept vital, timely, and responsive,” said Mark Bailey, Director of Strategic Communications.
The second phase will include changes to the site’s design. Once a new style for the layout has been chosen, ITS will implement the selected set-up changes to improve navigation.
According to Bailey, President Roth has been interested in altering the University’s website to make it more useful for students, faculty, staff, parents, and prospective students. A blog has been put in place where anyone interested can voice their opinion about the current website or make suggestions for the new one. To visit the Redesign blog, go to http://webredesign.blogs.wesleyan.edu/.
“The existing Wesleyan website has served Wesleyan well for many years,” Bailey said. “Yet, over time it has become less relevant for today’s students, who rely more upon other web sources of content. We are fortunate to have this opportunity to work on such a central component of the Wesleyan experience, build upon a sound technological foundation, push the limits and develop something better for the Wesleyan community.”