Service Line: Website Design + Development

One of the most impactful areas for improvement is your website’s information architecture (IA), or how you label and organize information to make it easy to find. IA includes both your sitemap and your navigation elements. Done well, good IA is nearly invisible, allowing site visitors to focus on your content. It’s the difference between a seamless user experience where visitors find what they’re looking for without thinking twice or a frustrating, confusing experience full of endless clicking and scanning.

When considering ending a contract with an Online Program Management (OPM) company, colleges and universities must prioritize preserving their website’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and User Experience (UX) to maintain effective student recruitment for online programs.

New look. New messaging. New experience. A website redesign project represents a prime opportunity to not only rethink your college or university’s brand and presentation but also how you connect with prospective students, attract faculty and industry partners, and engage your current student body. 

The 2024 UCDA Design Awards honored Carnegie with two awards for our web design work for Columbia College and Reed College. We’re excited to share a sneak peek into the strategy and intent behind the work of our web team in crafting two beautiful websites.

Since the dawn of jQuery, image carousels have sparked much debate. Some people love them, others dislike them, and many are ambivalent. But whatever anyone’s opinion, one persistent issue has emerged: accessibility. Many carousels are not optimized for an inclusive user experience or compatibility with assistive technologies. However, this does not mean we cannot create a better carousel that addresses these concerns.

Today’s internet users want more than generic landing pages and irrelevant pop-ups. They expect a digital experience tailored to them. In fact, Adobe’s Definitive Guide to Web Personalization reports that over 85% of website visitors expect personalization as part of their online experience. By leveraging audience data, you can serve content and experiences that feel strikingly relevant. 

It’s a common refrain when higher ed marketers approach content strategy for their institution’s website – “my priority content can’t require more than three clicks or the user will lose interest.” The three clicks mentality in web design goes back decades and the dogma hasn’t become less powerful with age. In the attention economy, where a TikTok video that doesn’t compel fast enough can be swiped away in an infinite scroll, it feels more urgent than ever to capture site visitor’s attention, and fast.

In today’s higher education landscape, your institution’s website is more important than ever. As the primary gateway to your college or university, it often serves as the first point of contact for prospective students. The experience they have on your site can shape their perception of your institution, whether they are exploring academic programs, learning about campus life, or evaluating financial aid options. This post is the first in a series focused on ways to make impactful, incremental improvements to your website to better communicate your institution’s value and guide prospective students to their next step.

One of the keys to understanding and improving website accessibility is knowledge of the most common accessibility errors and how to fix them. Since 2019, WebAIM has completed a yearly accessibility review of the top 1 million websites and produced a report of their findings. The review tests the home pages for each of these sites and scans them for accessibility errors.

The internet should be an inclusive space for all users from any background or physical or mental ability. According to the Pew Research Center, about 1 in 4 internet users in the United States have a disability. This statistic includes those interested in higher education who are searching the internet to learn more about institutions and their programs. When students with disabilities engage with college and university websites, they often rely on assistive technologies.