New university home page to be launched in June

When you visit UW-Madison’s main Web site during June, you’ll see the results of a complex project to redesign and reorganize access to the university’s vast online resources.

Chancellor John Wiley charged University Communications with the task of taking a critical look at the institutional home page during the past year — an undertaking that represents the biggest overhaul to the Web site since 1998.

With a scope that includes the top level of the university’s Web site, second-tier pages, select third-tier pages and several administrative sites, the UW–Madison Home Page Project has focused on three overarching goals:

• enhance the user experience;
• ensure timely and consistent content;
• reflect the spirit and personality of one of America’s great public research universities.

The project team has worked closely with campus stakeholders and an informal 18- member advisory group to develop the information architecture, navigational priorities and graphic design concepts for the site. Development has included integration with the My UW–Madison portal where possible and full compliance with federal accessibility standards.

“From the very beginning of the project, we’ve been committed to building a userfocused site,” says Nick Weaver, project director and Web team manager for University Communications. “We invested time at the front end for essential market research — conducting an online survey about the current site, reviewing user statistics and exploring user expectations for university Web sites.”

The market research guided the development team to designate prospective students and current students as the site’s primary audiences.

“We know, of course, that the home page has an audience of anyone and everyone, and we didn’t ignore other key audiences, including faculty and staff, alumni, donors, and business and community leaders,” Weaver says. “But identifying primary audiences really helped to focus the initial content and organizational scheme for the top level. Then we did a reality check to make certain that the other audiences were addressed, too.”

Research also influenced the site’s graphic design, which will feature large photos of campus, an emphasis on the word “Wisconsin” and a judicious use of the color red. Although the new home page will be launched in June, Weaver emphasizes that the project is a work in progress. “The toplevel and second-level pages will continue to evolve as people visit the site and offer feedback,” he says.

Weaver says that the home page tallies about 300,000 unique visitors per month on average. With specific information requests covering a massive array of topics — from when classes begin next semester to the latest findings in stem cell research — it’s impossible to accommodate everything within the limitations of a single computer screen.

“That’s where the search capability comes in,” Weaver notes. “While we are striving to guide people to the information they want as seamlessly as possible, another significant enhancement to the site is the addition of a search tool on the home page itself. Most users find that entering a keyword or name into a search box on the top level isn’t merely a fallback when you can’t immediately find a link — it’s an invaluable tool for navigating a huge Web network for a university.”

Like with any new home, users will want to take some time to look around after they first enter the university’s electronic front door.