Seton Hall's New Site
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| Seton Hall University's new Web site. |
Seton Hall's new main Web site, also called the gateway, is almost here. The new site will replace the one located at www.shu.edu, which was originally launched in 2000. The University's design team has spent nearly nine months developing the new Web site, which will launch within a matter of weeks.
The design team behind the new site was a joint collaboration between the University's departments of Public Relations and Marketing and Information Technologies. The team consists of Rob Brosnan, Lee Clark, Mike Hyland, Nancy Mustachio, Courtney Sollie, Marie Somers and Kevin Whary.
With so much effort behind the project, what can you expect? The Web site features three main improvements over the existing site: a new look, new content and new technology.
New Look
After five years of the "blue bar", the design team decided to take an entirely fresh approach to the graphical design of the site. Working through at least 25 different designs, the team settled upon the look and feel you see on the preview site. The site's use of a prominent Seton Hall blue, along with complementary blues, greens and yellows, helps visitors recognize New Jersey's oldest and largest Catholic institution of higher learning.
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| Did You Know? elements help tell the University's story in easy to understand snippets. |
But color isn't the only element you'll notice on the new site. The site makes a much more nimble use of space, resulting in more relevant information available on a page. "With as many demands for attention on people as there are today," says Mike Hyland, the site's graphic designer, "we wanted to make sure visitors didn't have to go hunting for information. No matter where you go on the site, you can find an interesting story, fact about the University or an event happening on campus. The site really reflects the breadth and depth of activities on campus.
New Content
"Seton Hall is a great university, but the Web has had trouble showcasing all that we are and do," says Rob Brosnan, director of web and digital communications. "For example, did you know that there are seven former U.N. ambassadors on the faculty of the Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations? If the information isn't presented to you, would you go looking for it? On the old Web site, you'd be hard pressed to find it."
The new site addresses this deficiency through new types of content. In addition to the news and events carried on the old site, the new site offers prospective students Hallmarks, or key reasons why they should come to Seton Hall. Facts about the University, such as the number of U.N. ambassadors, are presented in quick, easy-to-digest elements called Fast Facts and Did You Know.
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| Hallmarks promote the University's key selling points. |
"The accomplishments of and research by our faculty has long been missing in action," Brosnan says. Faculty achievements will be illustrated through the In Focus area on the new site's home page. Over time, profiles, quotes and other elements will be used to highlight the faculty and student body.
Finally, in order to get the right information to the right people, the site boasts redesigned Current Students and Faculty and Staffpages. In these convenient locations, students and faculty and staff will each have a single place to look to find out news and announcements that are relevant to them and events they might want to attend.
New Technology
Keeping news, events and other information up-to-date is often the most difficult aspect of managing a Web site. Marie Somers, web development manager, remarks, "Very few of us actually have the word 'Web' in our job titles. Yet we all have a role to play in promoting campus activities. Our goal was to make submitting news and events as easy as writing a letter. People should manage technology, not the other way around."
The new Web site is built atop a content management system called CommonSpot. Content management systems are similar to word processors, allowing individuals to update the content of a Web page with the same skills they utilize when working in Microsoft Word™. "While a little training is necessary," Somers says, "everyone on campus already has what it takes to use CommonSpot."
The new Web site is the first to feature CommonSpot, but over time, all other University Web sites will be moved onto CommonSpot.