Below are some concept wireframes that provide a sneak peak as to how the project is coming along…

For further information around West Thames and their main website project which Pixl8 also designed and built, read the case study here.

1 – Write up some student case studies

Include student profiles and quotes throughout your website.  This provides more of a personal touch and confirms the quality of the college and courses on offer.  It also makes existing students feel special and involved.

2 – Leverage the powers of Social Media

Teenagers are by far the largest users of social media, so this is a great opportunity to communicate with them.  Make sure to monitor and answer ALL social media posts via your Facebook / Twitter accounts.  Tweet interesting college facts and relevant news.  Use Facebook to list upcoming events and display photo galleries from previous college events.

3 – Showcase successful college leavers

Teenagers love to idolise the rich and famous, as much as anyone else!   Highlight previous students who have studied at your college that have now gone on to become successful.  This acts as evidence of the benefits of studying at your college (especially if they’re now doing well in the area they studied in).

4 – Get some promotional videos made up

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, but a video is worth even more.  These should ideally be kept to below 2 minutes and provide an insight into the benefits and fun times that lie ahead if choosing to enrol at your college.  If you offer media related courses, perhaps your students could help you while providing them with another project for their portfolios?

5 – Mash up your content

Include a variety of content types alongside their related subject on your website e.g. student profiles, image galleries and video clips.  This provides a fuller picture as to what each course offers, and is far more engaging than a boring course listings page.

6 – Simplify your forms

Presenting prospective students with long complex forms to fill in can be daunting, and may even turn them away.  Capture as many enrolment enquiries as you can by keeping your online forms short and sweet.  If the forms need to remain long, split the process into shorter sections, with only a few questions per page.  Including a status bar showing completion progress helps to provide the user with peace of mind they’re almost there.

7 – Prioritise website functionality

List out the key functions of your college website, then design and build your homepage around the features required to meet these.  For example, a great looking website that doesn’t allow prospective students to easily search through courses isn’t much use to anybody!

8 - Don’t forget mobile

According to recent statistics from Ofcom, nearly half of all teenagers now own a smart phone, and 70% of those aged between 16 and 24 use their mobile to access the internet.  Based on these facts, failing to consider mobile as part of you digital strategy would be a big mistake.  Don’t necessarily jump on the mobile app bandwagon straight away, research your mobile analytics first and perhaps initially focus on mobile templates.

Wan't to know how we can help you with your college / HE website?  Check out our higher education products and services here.

1. Maintain a professional image
Having your blog URL as part of your existing website domain e.g. www.yourwebsite.com/blog looks far more professional than if it’s hosted upon a 3rd party platform domain e.g. www.3rdpartyplatform.com/yourblogname.

2. Design consistency
It’s easier to control the look and feel of your blog if it’s hosted and developed within your existing website, so using associated templates and style sheets.  This will help maintain design consistency, and in turn assist with your brand awareness and overall marketing efforts.

3. Content management
Managing your blog through your existing CMS means you only need to learn how to use one piece of content editing software.  There’s also no need to log into two separate systems, as you’ll be able to edit both the blog and website content from the same place, using the same login details.

4. Boost SEO efforts
Hosting your blog on a separate platform, thus domain, doesn’t mean you’re doubling your SEO efforts.  You’ll be in fact halving them, as each domain will be competing against one another in search rankings!  Boost your SEO efforts by having your blog and all associated fresh content containing relevant keywords within the same domain as your main website.

5. URL recall
Maintaining a consistent URL structure, and so having your blog as being - www.yourwebsite.com/blog or blog.yourwebsite.com, is far easier for your audience to remember than www.3rdpartyplatform.com/yourblogname.

6. Categorised and related content
The beauty of managing your blog from within your existing website CMS is that it allows you to drop in blog post listings throughout your website.  By categorising your blog posts using the same category structure as other content, allows you to build up related content pages.  For example, by including a blog post listing tagged as “category 1” on a news article page also tagged as “category 1”, is likely to keep a user on your website longer, therefore increasing the likelihood of a sales / member conversion.

7. Cross selling opportunities
Having your blog within your existing website structure allows users to freely navigate between other areas of your site, without getting lost in alternative browser windows and/or navigation.  Integrated navigation promotes your services and products more prominently, and so in turn helps with cross selling efforts.

8. Security considerations
Managing your blog using your existing CMS removes the security headaches that are often associated with running online marketing efforts.  Rather than needing to police access to two different systems, you are able to instead manage all permissions from just one place – your CMS.  This way if you need to remove a user when a colleague leaves, or add one when a new member of staff joins it can be done just once for both the website and blog.

Thanks to this understanding, Pixl8 have developed a fully featured blog module that can be plugged into our WebConnect CMS solution.  A number of our clients are already benefiting from the advantages and opportunities it brings, and we are continuing to research and develop its functionality.

Please contact Pixl8 here if you’d like to learn more about our fantastic blog module or WebConnect CMS package.

The Pixl8 team have worked hard to create a brilliantly designed user friendly site based on our content management system and rapid development platform WebConnect. The site has been created to serve the needs of the distinct audiences who visit the site and incorporates features such as Course Search, Search engine and social media integration. We will be adding rich mobile template support early in the new year.

Have a look at the new college website design here: http://www.leyton.ac.uk

More college websites are on their way, check back here early in 2012...

It needs to be a one-stop-shop information source. When new visitors click onto your website you only have about three seconds in which to capture their attention. So taking the right approach to development is crucial.
 

1) Create a winning strategy
Increase revenue through event bookings, selling training materials and publications. Increase membership with a fast renewals process and lower admin costs.
 

2) Understand the market
What do your members want? Conduct member surveys and workshops and monitor member enquiries and comments. Study web analytics to understand how the site is currently being used and whether there’s a requirement for mobile access.
 

3) Focus on the user
Your goals to increase revenue and membership should drive the design and the way information is displayed on the website. Users should be able to find relevant content quickly and easily. Consider mobile access for convenience.
 

4) Design to cross-sell
The way people navigate on websites is changing. Users select links and stories to gain information on areas of interest. Tag all content to category or topic lists relevant to all audiences in order to cross sell events, training materials and publications.
 

5) Integrate your website and membership database
All membership data should be stored in one place to provide members with a personalised, comprehensive service whether they are on the website or using email.
 

6) Personalise pages
Use category or topic lists to create specialist interest groups and web pages relevant to individual roles and areas of interest.
 

7) My Association
This interactive members’ area should deliver personalised content to specific members and promote a sense of belonging. It’s a hub for advice, ideas, news and profiles and should include a members’ search facility, supplier directory and history of member activity and purchases.
 

8) Provide a public platform
Encourage interaction from supporters and the general public as well as members. Provide a platform for them to share expertise and experience. Include comment boxes for feedback, forums and group collaboration features.
 

9) Put admin and services online
Membership renewals, new member applications, event management and bookings and purchases – get the admin online, integrate it with the member database and save money. Make training courses and CPD (Continuing Professional Development) available online too through podcasts and videos.

10) Create a social media strategy
Use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to raise the profile of your association and its business goals and drive more potential members to your website.