Lynn University WebSite
The customer’s point of view is valuable input into the information architecture of any application. Often, customers do not see the information in the way we intend them to. Lynn University partnered with User Insight to perform various research methods and competitive analysis, resulting in a more user friendly way to find information on their website.
Lynn University wanted to attract potential students to the school through its website. Over the years, the site had grown significantly, making it difficult to navigate and find content. In addition, Lynn University recognized the importance to better understand potential students’ needs from a website, so they came to User Insight for guidance. User Insight conducted research and competitive analysis to form solid recommendations about how to inform and influence potential students and organize content. Then User Insight applied the recommendations through specific design ideas and solutions.
Client Goals
- Understand student needs and desires for a university website.
- Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of competitor websites.
- Form specific design solutions for the website, such as functionality, information architecture, and nomenclature.
Our Approach
- Close interviews to gather feedback on the overall user experience of the Lynn University website.
- Online survey focusing on the use, functionality, and features of the Lynn University Website.
- Competitive analysis of Lynn.edu and two competitors focusing on information architecture, navigation, task flows, design, terminology, page layout, and content presentation.
- Information architecture and search engine optimization recommendations based on user feedback, competitive analysis, and Lynn University’s top search terms for 2007.
Insights Gained
Lynn University learned much about prospective students and website design, such as
- Priority of information needed to attract students provided insight into information architecture enhancements.
- Ensuring terminology for major headings and subheadings that account for the fact that many high school students do not know the “language of academia.”
- Communication of the school’s reputation, core values, and mission through pictures and text on the home page.
- Usability and readability improvements by reducing the amount of text and using bullets and bolding for easy scanning.
- Including pictures and reviews from current students to give future students a sense of living at Lynn University for four years.
- Making the calendar and campus map easy to find.
- Offering pictures of the campus, people, and social events to appeal to potential students.
- Featuring virtual tours, campus events, campus calendar, and video to help potential students decide on a university.
Who we talked to
- 5 users for the interviews and 14 users for the survey who
- attended high school and were actively scouting colleges for information.
- were willing to relocate to out of state universities to continue education beyond high school.
- had household incomes that exceeded $70K annually.