Eastern Michigan University's home page will undergo a
moderate facelift later this week, as an interim step toward
an overall Web site redesign planned for early next year.
A primary reason for the changes was to make the home
page more flexible to accommodate different kinds of information,
and to allow for a more robust presentation of graphics
and multimedia.
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HOME PAGE MODIFICATIONS: Eastern Michigan
University's home Web page will have some
visible
changes take place later this week. The
changes are
being made to make the home page more
flexible to
accommodate different kinds of information,
and to
allow a more robust presentation of graphics
and
multimedia. |
The changes are most visible in the lower portion of the
page, but the upper half has been revised to handle larger,
timelier images and to auto-rotate the image set (i.e.,
the images rotate as you look at the page, rather than
waiting until you reload the page). Users also will notice
that information has been rearranged for greater usability.
For example, the menu that includes "Apply," "Site Map, " "Calendars, " "Directories, " "Ask
EMU" and "My.Emich" has been moved to the upper right corner,
and a new search box has been added.
"One of the main goals of the project was a feature most
site visitors will never notice, but is critical to our
future," said Rhonda DeLong, director of Web communications
and new media. "We have been working to develop our new
pages and sites in a way that will allow us to fully meet
standards for accessibility. This new home page design
takes us a long way in that direction."
"Our goal is to make the EMU home page the place to go
to get information about EMU," said Ted Coutilish, associate
vice president for marketing and communications. "We feel
these modifications are the first step in achieving that
goal."
Visitors who are visually impaired, who are using assistive
devices or who are using newer mobile devices will be
able to access the site's features seamlessly.
Other visible changes include the following:
- The main navigation section was reset using text rather
than images. Spacing and typography were optimized in
the drop-down menus.
- A script was added to post the current date.
- The three-column format at the bottom was optimized for
the use of graphics and different kinds of media and links.
- An "events and media" section replaced the "around campus" section.
- The masthead information, contact information and EMU
logo were moved to the page footer.
- The Quick links menu was located in the lower right corner.
- The color palette was updated.
The project was a collaborative effort between Web Communications
and ICT. Suzanne Szopo, instructional technologist II,
took a leading role in the design, scripting and structural
changes.
"Suzanne's work and ideas were outstanding, and
I continue to appreciate the collaboration of my colleagues
in ICT as we move our Web presence and services forward," said
DeLong.
The new home page design is just one step toward the future
of Web services at EMU.
"Keep in mind that this is not the final product," said
DeLong. "Our plan is to re-develop the entire EMU Web site
with a new design, new structure, new information architecture
and greater accessibility. Since a project of that scope
involves broad collaboration and takes months, we thought
it would be a great interim step to freshen up the current
look and functionality until we are able to develop and
launch a new site."
Look for the "new" home page to launch by the end of this
week.
