UC Davis has launched a major redesign of its homesite, making it easier and more enjoyable for visitors to explore the university.
The redesign was a joint effort between two UC Davis teams: Information and Educational Technology, or IET, and the Office of Strategic Communications. Their goal was to rethink how people use the university’s website and create a more modern and engaging experience, bringing academics, research, campus life and news together in one place. The project marks the third major redesign of the site in the past decade.
“This website redesign is the culmination of several years of research, planning and strategic refinement,” said Tom Watts, interim director of web communications in Strategic Communications. “It was brought to life through a truly collaborative effort among Strategic Communications, IET and partners across campus.”
The result is a site that is easier to navigate and more useful for a wide range of visitors. The team focused on creating an experience that is engaging and intuitive while making it easier for people to find the information they need.
“Our refined content strategy is designed to extend the university’s reach across every corner of California and, increasingly, to audiences across the country,” Watts said.
Watts and user experience designer Max Boyd, along with programmer Jason Acuna, worked with IET to create custom features for the new site. One of the biggest changes came from looking at how people actually use the website. Analytics showed that many visitors did not scroll very far down the page.
To address this, the team introduced sections that move horizontally instead of only vertically. Visitors can scroll from side to side to explore related stories and information, allowing them to see more content without having to continuously scroll down the page. One example is “The Aggieverse,” a space featuring campus news and other content.
The new website also makes it easier for visitors to find what they need. Instead of presenting users with a long list of links and pages, the site focuses on a smaller number of main topics. These topics are featured prominently at the top of the homepage, helping visitors quickly find popular areas of the site.
The website is also organized around the different things visitors may want to do. Whether someone is a prospective student, a faculty or staff member, or simply interested in learning more about UC Davis, the site provides clear paths to information.
The UC Davis News & Information page was also redesigned with its primary audience in mind: journalists and others looking for university news. The updated page gives greater visibility to news and other content, including In Focus, Dateline and podcasts.
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Anila Lijo is a writer and editor for the Office of Strategic Communications, and can be reached by email.