For the first time in nearly 10 years, the UNCG website is being redesigned. Launched in spring 2020, the Next Generation Website Project’s goal is to develop a new University website that communicates a clear and compelling story of student success and faculty accomplishments, fuels enrollment growth and alumni participation, and inspires engagement and investment in UNCG community and business partnerships.
As Chancellor Gilliam recently told a group of communications and marketing professionals from across our campus, “The website is one of the most important ways we communicate, especially in challenging times, and we need to make sure it reflects who we are – a winner with a great story to tell.”
Guided by the Web and Mobile Operating Committee (WAMO), which includes representatives from units across campus, UNCG is working with VisionPoint Marketing – a company specializing in higher education websites – to develop a website that has a positive and seamless user experience on all devices.
Since March, the project has:
- Completed a performance review of our existing site, including a technical audit and competitor analysis;
- Held a series of focus groups, known as the Listening Tours, with more than 100 participants from across campus via Zoom;
- Developed and adopted a new website strategy to set the course; and
- Most recently, the Information Architecture process began with a week of workshops consisting of representatives from across the University.
Based on these campus engagements and broader UNCG and competitor website analysis, WAMO has determined that the core audience of the website is prospective students. Content for this audience should be organized to provide one seamless user experience across the University’s footprint. This may mean the consolidation of sites and content such as a newly proposed section for prospective students to find all information related to cost, aid, and scholarships.
The University’s website will showcase UNCG’s unique attributes in order to better recruit world-class faculty and staff. The University must continue to strengthen its branding online with consistent use of logos, messaging, colors, and more. With this redesign, the new University website will focus even more on and celebrate the vast array of people on campus and UNCG’s unique connection to Greensboro.
What can you do? Participate in the process. Stay connected with your website managers and communications colleagues. Look for updates in Campus Weekly to participate in feedback opportunities. Together, we will improve our web presence for the next generation of Spartans.
Story by Kimberly Osborne, University Communications
