Balancing Each User’s Needs
A user experience challenge of any college website is being able to communicate the right information to each audience, in a way that is clear and discoverable. These audiences include future and current students, faculty and staff, as well as alumni and the community.
Each of these audiences has some same, but some different needs and goals from using this website.
This project uses Farmingdale State College’s website as an example and how it can be improved to better serve the needs of the different users who use and rely on the website.
Please note this was an in-class project and is not the real Farmingdale State College homepage. For the official Farmingdale State College homepage, visit
http://farmingdale.edu
http://farmingdale.edu
Research
I assessed the current functionality of the website, including the different sections and links. I then ranked the importance of these sections by audience in order to have a clear information hierarchy. I also received several pages of feedback from users of the current website (including students and faculty/staff).
Planning & Sketches
I sketched several options for the layout of the website, each exploring different ways of providing the most relevant links and information to the different user types.
Wireframes
Wireframes were then created which outline the core layout and functionality of the site. Shown are the different hover states, elements, search, and login flow.
Screenshots
