We launched a Beta version of the new findlay.edu website on Monday, Feb. 5, 2018. We know - and hope - that there'll be lots of questions about the new site. It has been a long journey but we finally made it. We're definitely still in beta. If you've ever launched a website, you'll know the work never ends after launch. There are always surprises and we're having lots of those “Oops, I still need to work on that page" or “Hey, why wasn't that caught during testing?" moments. The beta site will be up for the next month while we continue to make tweaks, build out components and make fixes. Once we have worked through all the tweaks, we will officially roll out the new site at the end of February.
In the meantime, we wanted to give you an overview of what we've done and why.
Why has the site been overhauled?
The website is the front door of the university and many individuals' first impression of the University of Findlay. It was time to rethink the University's online presence and enhance the user experience. Our goal was to create a site that is image-driven, captures visitors' attention immediately and is easy to navigate. We also needed to redesign the website to look as good and be as easy to navigate on a mobile device as it is on a desktop computer.
What do we hope to achieve with the new website?
We want to inspire more people to become a part of the University of Findlay community. The new design focuses on celebrating all the amazing experiences that take place on our campus and giving people clear avenues to become a part of the OilerNation either as a new student, employee, donor or helping alumni get excited about reengaging with their alma mater.
What Company Was Used to Develop the Site?
None. All of the design, development, and content created for the new site has been done by the dedicated team members in the University's Web Services and Marketing and Communication Office over an 18-month period.
What's New?
Everything. We have rebuilt the design, the search functionality, and overall navigation.
We've gone from this:
To this:
The new site has been designed to be mobile first and to improve the overall user experience. New features include:
- Cleaner homepage with dynamic video designed to catch the immediate imagination of potential students.
- Cleaner overall layout designed to look just as good and be as easy to navigate on a mobile device as it is on a desktop.
- Separate homepages (intranet landing pages) for Faculty & Staff and for Students (no more Quick Links)
- Fast, accurate search tool
- Image-driven second level pages designed to better engage potential students, donors, and alumni
We'd love you to explore the new website - including the homepage, Admissions pages, Faculty/Staff landing page, Student landing page, the History section and Alumni page to name a few.
To learn more, watch the video below for quick tutorials on where to find information on the new site.
We want your feedback!
We hope this page answered some of the first questions you might have, but we know there will be more! Please email [email protected] with additional questions or feedback.