Websites are your most important marketing tool, but the function of and expectations for higher ed websites have changed in the last 5-10 years. To be successful in your website redesign effort, you need to think about your site in the context of your entire digital ecosystem in order to create a simple, seamless experience for you site visitors. This presentation covers the critical steps you can take to make your website successful - today and into the future.

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Higher Education Expertise
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Matt Cyr, VP, Strategic Practices & Higher Education Practice Lead
• Worked at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, as Director of
Digital Strategy
• Also at Clark University in Worcester, MA, as Director of Digital
Marketing; led comprehensive website redesign
Matt.Cyr@theprimacy.com
@mattcyr
https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewfcyr/
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3. For What’s
Next
Full Service
Agency Solving
Marketing,
Branding and
Technology
Challenges
Primacy 101

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Higher Education Expertise
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Many Higher Ed Websites
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Websites Have Changed
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Websites Have Changed
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1996
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Websites Have Changed
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2001
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Websites Have Changed
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2006
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Websites Have Changed
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2012
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Websites Have Changed
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2018

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So Have the Decision-Makers
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Used to be…
• Marketing / Communications /
Public Affairs
• Admissions
• Academics
• IT
Now …
• Marketing / Communications / Public Affairs
• Undergrad Admissions
• Grad Admissions
• Academics
• IT
• Alumni Relations
• Financial Services
• Student Services
• Corporate Relations
• Research
• Registrar
• Career Services
• Board of Trustees
• Etc.
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Technology Landscape, Too
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So what does this
all mean for you?
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15. Lead Gen
Paid Search
Organic Search
Display Ads
Events & Tours
Blogs and Other
Content
Social Media
Earned Media
Etc.
Lead Nurture
Email Nurture Stream
Admissions
Communications
Webinars
Events
E-newsletters
Retargeting Ads
Print
Etc.
ANALYTICS, TESTING AND ITERATION THROUGHOUT
Website/
CMS
Marketing
Automation
Online
Learning
Platform
Social
Channels
CRM
Planning & Execution Throughout the Ecosystem
A Different
Perspective on
Website
Redesigns
Website/CMS

16. STEP #1
Focus on the
Why & the
Who

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Focus on the Why & the Who
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§ Start with strategy – and stick with it
§ Goal, audience and success measures
above all else
§ Choose a primary audience and goal
§ Create personas and journeys
§ Think like your audience
One Thing You Can Do
Use simple tools to
learn from your
audience and
community
(surveys, drop-in
conversations, phone
calls, etc.)
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18. STEP #2
Resist the
Urge to Go it
Alone

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Resist the Urge to Go ItAlone
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§ Think broadly about who’s on
“the team”
§ Start with leadership
§ Maximize efforts & share
resources when possible
§ Be a good partner
§ Communicate early and often
One Thing You Can Do
Over-communicate, but
don’t over-commit.
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20. STEP #3
Map Your
Ecosystem

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MapYour Ecosystem
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§ Right people in a room with a whiteboard
§ Think expansively
§ Make journey match your scope
§ Plan for technical, tracking and reporting challenges
§ Identify key handoff points between dept.'s, schools,
outside organizations, etc.
§ Look for places where brand and creative will be
impacted
§ Understand status of key technologies along the path
One Thing You Can Do
Map your own
ecosystem.
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22. STEP #4
Plan for the
Short & Long
Term

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Plan for the Short & Long Term
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§ Understand budget cycles
§ Think print!
§ Consider all possible areas of
associated cost
§ Move away from idea of “big bang”
redesign
One Thing You Can Do
Put in a system of
measurement and
reporting that will help
prove the ROI of your
work.
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24. STEP #5
Create a
Single,
Seamless
Experience

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Plan a Single, Seamless Experience
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• UX elements
• CTAs
• Navigation (where possible)
• Information architecture and taxonomy
• Brand & Creative Impact
• Visual consistency across tactics and device types
• Logo usage
• Photo selection and messaging – how does it play at
the size of a banner ad vs a hero image?
• Impacting tools you don’t own – CRM, social, etc.
One Thing You Can Do
Keep a visual
documentation of all
aspects of your user’s
journey – ads, landing
pages, emails, etc.
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26. STEP #6
Always Think
About Content

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Always ThinkAbout Content
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§ Develop your own content strategy
§ Use personas & journeys as your guide
§ Plan for current and new work
§ SEO/organic search as a lens
§ Start small, but start now!
One Thing You Can Do
Use your website as a
publishing platform and
social accounts as
distribution channels,
not the other way
around.
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To Recap
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Don’t Go It
Alone
Map Your
Ecosystem
Plan for
Short &
Long Term
Create a
Single,
Seamless UX
Focus on
the Who &
the Why
Always
Think About
Content
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Stop by booth #4 for your
chance to win a free ecosystem
evaluation for your institution in
one of these areas:
• Accessibility
• Analytics & Reporting
• Brand Articulation
• GDPR
• Prospective Student Journey
• SEO
• User Experience
Questions?

30. Thank You!