College Websites: To be Effective or Not to be Effective

When looking for colleges, certain items make the difference between an application being filled out and a close window being clicked. Does it not only have links, but pictures and do the pictures represent the experience that can be found at the college in question? Also, the college has to take in to consideration past students are just as important as future ones, so there has to be something that shows that the colleges still values them, alumni news.  In taking these considerations into account, the comic in Figure 2.5 is an extremely accurate depiction of what the content of a college website contains, minus the presentation of such information.

            One university in particular, which reflects the list in Figure 2.5, is the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. It includes a mission statement, alumni information, pictures, etc. along with a giant slide show.  It follows the same formula as the list because as mentioned before, those are the items that people go to the college website to find. If it only had pictures, some links, and nothing that connected the reader to the school, the reader would close the window and the school would kiss goodbye multiple donors, future students, etc.  So it may seem redundant and annoying to navigate, especially if you are a current student, but in looking at what the audience wants, the items aforementioned, the information and websites are highly effective.