Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Don’t forget about your footer. The footer is a great place to show your university style and really complete the page. Users typically look to the footer automatically for location, contact and other resources that don’t typically make it above the fold. Try to give your footer some personality in addition to resources.

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Today’s Tip:

Make sure you are using progressive enhancement or graceful degradation for every aspect of your site. If IE6 doesn’t support something then give them a different experience. There is no need to spend hours hacking something together so a page works in IE. Providing information doesn’t mean you have to guarantee the same experience on every device.

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Today’s Tip:

Its okay to break through the structured template every once an a while to get the users attention and get them involved. Using colors is a great way to get attention but breaking the grid can also bring attention to things without using crazy colors.

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Today’s Tip:

Make sure the user is in control of the content on your page. Duke has a promotion area the automatically rotates. Although the user is not choosing the speed if they miss something they can click through at their own pace. Without this option users who miss a desired slide they are likely to leave instead of engage the page further.

Episode Links:

• Halloween 2008 – York College of Pennsylvania – Episode #9

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Keep it simple and focus on the user. Users visit a page with a purpose, not just to browse around and waste time, that’s what Facebook is for. Every word on your page should be putting the impression that you care about your users goals and you can help. Tasmanian Academy does just that by sticking to the point and getting out of the way. Clear paths make for the best conversions.

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Today’s Tip:

If you want someone to read something don’t cut it off. This was the first time I had ever seen a site promote news but then cut the title off half way. I can see only displaying a certain number of words in the description but never in the title. The title should be the one line description of the article that pulls the reader in to investigate further. You cannot get your point across half way through a sentence.

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Today’s Tip:

Little things like the star on the selected menu items gives a little extra fun or surprise to the site that a user doesn’t typically expect. These types of things used sparingly can improve the users impression of the site overall. It shows some personality from an institution site that may feel cold.

Show Links:

• Last few days to take the “State of the University Web Department” Survey (Takes just 5 minutes)

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Too much movement can distract from the users goals. It is great to the them involved but make sure the movement emphasizes the goals of the site and is not just there to make the page look active.

Show Links:

• TEDxDetroit

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Simple is usable. Design and layout your site to emphasize the content. Users are coming to your site to get something done, they don’t want an experience. You can impact how they feel by the colors and photos but re-inventing the wheel can only confuse them more.

Show Links:

• Happy 1st Birthday EDU Checkup!

Time flew by so fast this post is even a day late! I knew the one year mark was coming soon and luckily I checked today instead of next week. It’s been a blast and I just wanted to write a short note about the past and future year of EDU Checkup.

Lets take a trip down memory lane

Frankly the first episode of EDU Checkup (October 17, 2008) left much to be desired, but it was a start. It was the first time I had ever recorded myself on video let alone knew what I was going to talk about. In the end it went well, got a ton of feedback and a great deal of support from everyone. Every piece of feedback shaped the rest of the 117 episodes.

It’s not about me, it’s about you

I cannot begin to name all the people who has shaped EDU Checkup into what is now. The thousands of you who watched, subscribed, commented, retweeted, told your friends, submitted a site for review and most of all learned something from the episodes. I am humbled at the higher education web community and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I’ve had people email and call to thanking me for showing their administration how good or bad their site is and I’ve even had people call me an idiot. The amount I’ve learned from the community is more than I could have in any book or classroom. What is comes down to is it’s not about me, it’s about you! You all make this possible.

The coming year

It’s been a blast so far and I’ve loved every episode but what has been missing is some consistency and new additions. Going through the statistics in the last few weeks made it apparent that EDU Checkup needs an official schedule.

• New episodes will now be coming out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s
• The weekly eduStyle wrap up will be coming back but on Saturday’s
• Mild introduction of sponsors – I hate the idea as much as you but it won’t be obnoxious
• Last but not least, the introduction of guests

The last two have been simmering in my head for a while, it just comes down to the right format and timing. I want to make sure things are right before introducing new features.

Thank you, thank you and thank you!

Again, from the bottom of my heart I want to thank each and every one of you! You make this all possible, keep up the rock star work!

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

If you are going to put an events calendar on your homepage a user is more engaged if you give them automatically what is going on today right up front. This way they are not forced to choose a day then see the events for that date.

Show Links:

• 5 min survey: State of the university Web department

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Creating a user experience is great but making the navigation visible and usable is more important. If the user cannot orient themselves within a few seconds they will most likely take the safest action and click the back button.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Oops I forgot the tip today.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

When you need to track actions in javascript attach them after the DOM has loaded instead of attaching them inline. You will save html space and it will be easier to maintain in case you have to change the action or add more functionality. Remember to separate the information structure from the design from the functionality.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

A quick tip, do something unexpectedly nice for your users. For example, if you have a search box with text in it and the user focus’s on it, simply remove the text so they can just start typing. This is something they would not expect and may bring a smile to their face.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

The listing of programs your institution offers should be easy to get to and intuitive on your site. Having a search is great but it should not be the first and only thing a prospective student is faced with when looking for what you offer. Give them options, guide them a little and offer a search if the options are too overwhelming.

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

When organizing your program listing do it by program name not based on what department they are in. Give the user options, if they want to pick by name they should, these are the types of things that make a web experience enjoyable. Let the user be in control.

Episode Links:

• <uwebd /> Ning Group

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Items that are not part of the actual content of the site should not be part of the structure of the HTML. They should be included with the style of the site. Basically if it should not be printed it is part of the visual design of the site and not the structured information on your page. It not only takes up HTML space but also gets the attention of search engines and screen readers when it is not needed.

Episode Links:

• HighEdWeb Conference 2009

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Integrating multimedia items into your university news or events column not only shows that you have a lot going on but also that you are integrating multimedia into your every day activities. Too many universities place multimedia items on their site as an afterthought and they are usually self contained. Including them with traditional news items will get users to notice them without seeking out a separate section on the site.

Episode Links:

• Getting started with HTML5
• Follow @ericstoller

Site Scores:

Today’s Tip:

Putting dates on your site to not only let people know when deadlines and milestones are coming up but also creates a sense of urgency. Many universities use a lot of real estate dedicated to news and events but fail to create a call to action as well as an upcoming date and button.