Updated Xavier web site
Overview
At the end of the first full week of August, Xavier University will unveil an updated Xavier home page and second tier web sites. Currently in Beta mode, the Office of Web Services is highlighting the new site so that regular visitors get a preview of the site before it goes live.
Screenshots (click to enlarge)
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Enhancements
The changes to the Xavier home page are rooted in analytics, user feedback, and campus support and initiatives. A year's worth of web analytics were used to evaluate the information and tasks that users of the Xavier web site seek to accomplish. Coupled with comments from Xavier web visitors, as well as feedback from members of Xavier's campus community and President's cabinet, the new site will better focus on a web visitor's experience.
- Prospective students: The largest group of visitors to the Xavier web site are prospective students, both at the undergraduate and graduate level. Most of the tasks that these visitors perform on the Xavier site include scheduling visits, applying for admission and seeking information about financial aid and majors or programs. To help these visitors find the information they are looking for efficiently, links have been featured on the new site for this added functionality.
- Academics: At some point during a web visit, most users navigate to an academic web site. In the current web site, a link to "Academics" is in the central navigation. That link will still exist. To help users find their academic area of interest more efficiently, links have been added for "Majors and programs: undergraduate, graduate" as well as a link to each of the three colleges:
- College of Arts & Sciences
- College of Social Sciences, Health, and Education
- Williams College of Business
- Employment: One of the most visited Xavier sites is the "Job Opportunities" area of the Human Resources web site. An "Employment" link has been added in the footer like many other corporate sites.
Web 2.0
As the Xavier web site has evolved, so too has the need to introduce dynamic and interactive areas of the site. Below the search box, an area has been added for "Xavier's Top Searches" which will regularly change based on what web visitors are searching for. An area near the bottom of the page has been designed for "Featured Sites." Based on areas of the site that are of interest during a particular time of year or based on a significant volume of traffic, sites will be identified as Featured Sites and brought on to the Xavier home page.
What's out?
Not much. The current "Sights & Sounds" tab, as well as the rotating factoids, will be combined into an interactive Flash area highlighting the many great initiatives at Xavier, including items such as current construction, enrollment dates, deadlines and events, and alumni programs; all with a high-tech twist that include videos, photo galleries and other features.
The generic "Visitors & Community" link will also be removed. Seen as a catch-all for those who visited the site, the links that were most used including "Maps & Directions", "Virtual Tour", and "Visit" have all been added as additional links.
Feedback Requested
We welcome your feedback about the new Xavier site. A submission form, on the top right hand side of this page, is available for users to submit comments and provide feedback.