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.

Yes it seems we're approaching that time of year where projects are either being planned to a delivery before the Christmas period or the client and the Pixl8 team are starting to think about that brief break before enthusiastically re-commencing after the holiday period.

Presently we're finishing off amongst other things

1. A large online membership retention project

2. A Microsoft dynamics integrated membership website

3. Two higher education college websites which have some lovely creative pieces to them

4. A mobile website project

5. A site for a London property developer

6. A video portal using brightcove.com

Pixl8 has had a fantastic 2011 and we've got some really exciting projects to work on next year plus our largest contract to date.