The university’s new website – georgetown.edu – that will launch tonight includes a redesigned homepage and “top tier” pages that are highly trafficked and provide a broad range of information about the entire university.
The site is redesigned for the first time since 2002.
Reflecting Feedback
“I appreciate the many, many people across our campuses who contributed to the new site’s development,” said Julie Green Bataille, associate vice president of communications. “This effort would not have been possible without the collaboration of so many individuals, including members of our board of directors, students, faculty, staff, parents and prospective students.
“Their input helped to provide us with a much better understanding of what people are looking for on our website than ever before,” she added. “The new website responds to what we heard our users want – clear navigational pathways, more rich media, ways to engage with Georgetown online and information based on topic rather than organizational structure.”
New Features
The new website offers a number of new features that respond to user feedback.
Navigation
The navigational pathways found in the header of the new site, for example, correspond to topics and information most frequently sought by our website users and provide direct paths for them to access it quickly.
These pathways include ways for users to engage with Georgetown – including visiting campus, connecting to social media channels and making a gift.
“The navigation also includes a clear path to our schools and campuses from a one-click drop-down menu and recognizes that search functionality is important to users,” Bataille explained.
Topic Areas
In addition to news and events, a selection of topic areas “allows users to choose from new multimedia content based on themes that reflect defining characteristics of the university – our global perspective, commitment to academic excellence, Catholic and Jesuit values, location in Washington, D.C., and our tightly knit campus community,” Bataille said.
Users of the new website also can use a “footer” – a red tab at the bottom of the page – with content specifically relevant for faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni and prospective students.
Once users pick a category, they get a pop-up menu of “quick links” and other information specifically designed for them.
Going Mobile
The project also includes a redesign of the university’s mobile website, which includes quick access to news and events, our directory and the Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) schedule.
Starting Friday morning, iPhone and smartphone users can set their browsers to m.georgetown.edu.
Mobile access to the library catalog will be available in the near future.
Emergency Capabilities
“The new site also lets us post an “emergency alert” message and banner on the homepage and all top tier pages if necessary to quickly provide information about an emergency situation or inclement weather,” Bataille noted.
Users can also check the campus safety and emergency preparedness page for more information related to campus and emergency planning.
Georgetown worked with happy cog of Philadelphia to design the new site and Georgetown’s University Information Services implemented a new technical infrastructure to support it. The university’s GUide Committee played an advisory role for the project.
“I am deeply grateful to the many partners who have worked with us to make this project come to life,” Bataille said. “Their advice and input has been invaluable to our efforts.”
You can learn more about the history of the project on the top-tier redesign blog.
Feedback on the new site can be sent to the webmaster.