April 27, 2015
New website offers more responsive experiences
Southern Illinois University Carbondale unveiled a new site that is responsive to mobile devices and provides easier, streamlined access to information for prospective students and other audiences.
The siu.edu redesign was based on current trends, research and surveys of prospective and current students, faculty and staff. The responsive design means the layout will change according to what platform is being used -- mobile, tablet or desktop computer -- and fit nicely onto that screen.
Jessica Mann, assistant director for web communications, said the web team analyzed data from Google analytics and heat map software to assess:
- Most important pages
- Link placement
- Page functionality
- Items no longer used or needed
- Revision of the overall website structure
The redesign is also better suited for Google’s new search algorithm, which decreases the ranking of pages that do not have a mobile layout.
The web team welcomes feedback via a survey (also found at the bottom of all pages on siu.edu) that allows people to anonymously submit items they believe are missing and offer suggestions and input.