Higher Education

Selecting a CMS for a university can be a challenging decision. There are so many needs and nuances to consider - costs of implementation and maintenance, a wide range of technical ability among site administrators, developers, and content editors, a variety of end-users looking for different information...and the list goes on and on. While your answer likely isn’t as easy as, “let’s just do what everyone else is doing,” better understanding why other universities made the choice they did can shed light on your decision-making process. 

In our recent webinar, we set out to help higher ed marketing teams rethink their digital focus for the year ahead. 

We tapped a group of experts with years of experience helping some of the best-known colleges and universities deliver engaging digital experiences to discuss key web strategy takeaways. Members of the expert panel included:

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As we look ahead to the end of the future academic year and what the future looks like, we see uncertainty clouding what is a typical admissions season for teams in higher education. 

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What Are Personas? 

User personas are examples of the real people who engage with your website. Unlike traditional target audience segmentation, they provide greater depth and context by focusing on one character who embodies the predominant qualities of the larger group.

Developing user personas (or ideal customer profiles) and documenting the typical user flow will help you to develop a content map that corresponds to the journey of your personas--ultimately creating a better user experience overall.

Typically, persona research includes:

If you’re in Higher Education you’re likely becoming increasingly aware of the pressures for websites to be accessible, and really, it’s no wonder. Hundreds of Accessibility Lawsuits, Complaints, and Settlements have been filed against schools for having non-compliant websites and materials. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this big, scary monster waiting to get you. There are ways to help avoid complaints all together, and if you get one, there is a process to go through on your way to 508 compliance. 

We're convinced that open source technology, particularly Drupal, is the best fit for Higher Ed. Here's why.