Tag Archives: design

Homepage Usability

Jakob Nielsen, a key figure in web usability has 113 guidelines for homepage usability. I was asked to use the guidelines to assess our new homepage design. The following is a list of what I considered to be the most important guidelines along with whether or not the new design follows them, and some occasional comments.

Middlebury Homepage Usability Guidelines

Proposed Information Architecture

Items which are bold are links to sites or applications outside of the highly branded, public facing site. As such, we will not require extensive design treatment for these elements, aside from a generic theme and style guide which we can apply to our custom applications.

The sections labeled Interact below will be forward-facing portals for the section of the site they live in. We model this on the existing News Portal (http://go.middlebury.edu/news) and will use the same platform and technology we use for that site, and plan to use for the internal Personal Home Page sites, for the interaction sites. They are intended to give these areas increased flexibility in where they create their content and provide an aggregated view of that content.

  • Front Page
    • Top Right Navigation Bar
      • Log On – takes user to their Personal Home Page
      • WebMail
      • Banner
      • Directory
      • Emergency
      • Search – this is a Search Box!
    • Navigation Links on Front Page
      • Admissions
        • Applying
        • Financial Aid
        • Campus Visits
        • Interact
      • Academics
        • Departments
        • Course Catalog
        • Course Sites
        • Library
      • Programs
        • Language Schools
        • Schools Abroad
        • Bread Loaf School of English
        • Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
      • Athletics
        • Scores
        • Schedule
        • Rosters
        • Prospectives
      • Alumni
        • Events
        • Chapters
        • News
        • Directory
      • Giving
        • Online Giving
        • Middlebury Initiative
        • Donor Roll
        • Gift Planning
      • Affiliates
        • Monterey Institute for International Studies
        • Middlebury / Monterey Language Academy
        • Middlebury at Mills
        • Brandeis / Middlebury School of Hebrew
      • Arts
        • Arts News
        • Arts Calendar
        • Box Office
        • Museum of Art
      • Resources
        • Campus Map
        • Helpdesk
        • Bookstore
        • Jobs
    • Events Calendar
    • News
  • News – shows a list of the latest news stories with images and descriptions; site also contains an archive of News items arranged as follows in reverse chronological order; this site should remain functionally similar to the current News portal (go/news) and retain the links to other publications like Middlebury Magazine, The Campus, and administrative and student run blogs.
    • YYYY
      • MM
        • Shows a list of news stories from this Month
  • Emergency
    • In the event of an Emergency, response information displayed prominently
    • Emergency Response Guide
      • 1. Accidents or Medical Emergencies
      • 2. Fire
      • 3. Armed Threat
      • 4. Violent Crime or Behavior
      • 5. Explosion
      • 6. Bomb Threat
      • 7. Suspicious Packages and Envelopes or Substances
      • 8. Chemical Spill, Detection of Propane Gas, Fumes and Vapors
      • 9. Utility Failure
      • 10. Technology – Prolonged Outage
      • 11. Campus Trauma: Untimely Death or Serious Injury
      • 12. Health Emergency
      • 13. Pandemic – Campus Evacuation
      • 14. Weather
      • 15. Earthquake
      • 16. Water Damage or Structural Damage
    • General Information
      • Alertfind Messaging System
        • MessageOne
        • AlertFind – Receiving Messages
      • Emergency Response & Disaster Plan
      • Messages to the College Community
      • Safety And Security Handbook
      • Who Do I Call?
    • Internal Emergency Response Information
      • Organized by department
  • Admissions – build the current Request More Information link into the home page here as a button and consolidate the Banner forms to that Prospective types don’t have to pre-select the form that applies to them
    • Applying
      • Applications
      • Requirements & Deadlines
      • Frequently Asked Questions
        • For February Admissions
        • For Transfer Students
        • For International Students
        • For Parents
    • Financial Aid – home page content would include the information currently in Cost of a Middlebury Education
      • Applications – to include all of the content in the Forms area, which will additionally be purged of forms for prior years
      • Requirements & Deadlines – name changed to match section in Applying
        • Prospective Students
        • Current Students
        • Language Schools – link to LS site
        • Schools Abroad – link to SA site
        • Bread Loaf School of English – link to BLSE site
        • Middlebury Monterey Language Academy – link to MMLA site
      • Frequently Asked Questions – content from the current Types of Aid and Payment Options questions will be edited and added here in question/answer form
      • Contact
    • Campus Visits
      • Campus Tour Schedule – link to Events Calendar
      • Campus Maps and Directions – link to Campus Maps
      • Visits to your High School – link to Events Calendar
    • Interact
    • Facts and Figures – present the basic facts we have on the site, but also include more information from the diversity profile and other institutional research; also display the Financial Aid section on cost; also display facts about the Town
    • Contact
  • Academics
    • Individual Department Sites – a tabled list with colors or icons to note whether this site is for a Major, Minor, or Interdisciplinary Program. It is vital that this list is displayed on the home page of Academics. Each department site will have a landing page with placeholders for content from the “Interact” site below, such as videos of students from the department and/or a blogroll.
      • Courses – link to Course Catalog
      • Requirements
      • Faculty – list of photos and Directory information similar to our current faculty listings
        • Page for Each Faculty Member – includes photo of the faculty member from the Directory, other Directory information including Office Hours, and a profile of the Faculty member from their personal home page, editable by each Faculty member (and likely also by the department coordinators to offer assistance where needed).
        • Page for Department Coordinator, Lab Techs, etc. – similar content to Faculty profiles
      • Events – link to Events Calendar
      • Interact
    • Course Catalog – link to Course Catalog
    • Course Sites
    • Library
    • Academic Administration – this is a combination of the information currently in About Middlebury, Academic Affairs, the Handbooks, the Dean of the College site, and similar resource that are spread out in the current IA. This site will not be part of the highly branded, public-facing site, but its IA is included here for reference
      • President of the College – move biography so that it appears on the first page
        • President’s Blog
        • Board of Trustees
        • Officers of the Corporation
        • Past Middlebury Presidents (merge with President’s Emeriti)
        • Addresses & Statements (merge with Inauguration content)
        • Major Initiatives
        • Staff and Hours
          • President’s Staff
          • President’s Office Staff
          • Office Hours
      • Institutional Planning & Diversity
      • News and Information
        • President’s Blog
        • Dean of the College Blog
        • Academic Achievements – feed of academic related news stories from the central news site
        • Awards & Recognition – not limited to those listed below… central site for this content
          • Citizens Medal Winners
          • Staff Appreciation Awards
        • Faculty Experts
        • Faculty Publications – link to Library database
        • The Strategic Plan
      • Policies
        • Honor Code
        • AP Credit
        • College Handbook
        • Resources for New Faculty
        • Reappointment & Tenure
      • Committees
        • Administration Committee
        • Community Council
        • Faculty Committees & Governance
        • Institutional Review Board
        • Judicial Boards
        • Task Force on the Status of Women
        • Sexual Assault Oversight Committee
  • Athletics – home page is aggregated group of news stories from central news site based on tags
    • News – at the top level this will display a list of news stories, which can be filtered by sport and category.
      • SportsNotes Newsletter
      • Features
      • Middlebury Magazine Features
      • Webcasts
      • Photography
    • Sports
      • Coed
        • Individual Sports Sites
          • About the Program
          • News – drawn from central news site
          • Schedule & Results – drawn from database
          • Coaches – similar profiles as those provided for in Academics section
          • Roster
          • Captains
          • Facilities
      • Men’s
        • Individual Sports Sites
      • Women’s
        • Individual Sports Sites
      • Club Sports
    • Scores – aggregate view of sports scores in descending order of occurange with links to sports sections and game statistics; search interface for results archive
    • Schedule – link to Events Calendar
    • Facilities – link to Campus Maps
    • Prospectives – link to Prospectives application
    • About Athletics
      • Mission & Philosophy
      • NESCAC Admissions Practices
      • P.E. FAQ’s
      • Athletics Staff – similar profiles as those provided for in Academics section
  • Alumni – all external links here go to those features in the external Alumni Community
    • Alumni Directory
    • Career Networking
    • Events & Events Registration
    • Social Networking Tools
    • “My Page” Personal Profile
    • Class Notes
    • Online Giving
    • E-Mail Forwarding
    • Networking
      • Facebook
      • LinkedIn
      • Youtube
    • News – feed of all content from main Middlebury news source that’s tagged with “alumni”
      • Middlebury Magazine
    • Events – link to Events Calendar
      • Reunion
      • Homecoming
    • Chapters – links to Facebook chapter groups
  • Giving – build prominent “Give Now” button into the main page here. This would take folks directly to the online giving form
    • Middlebury Initiative
    • Ways to Give
      • Give Online – link to online giving form
      • Call to Make a Gift
      • Send a Check
      • Matching Gifts
      • Gift Planning
      • 1800 Society
      • Senior Class Gift
      • Student Fundraising Resources
    • Alumni Fund
      • Participations Challenge
      • Honor Rolls of Donors
        • Undergraduate
        • 1800 Society
        • Language Schools
        • Bread Loaf
        • Faculty & Staff
      • Become a Class Agent
      • Contact Us
    • Parents Fund
      • Join the Parent’s Committee
      • Honor Roll of Donors
    • Update your Information – link to form
    • Contact
  • Arts
    • Arts Calendar – link to Events Calendar
    • News and Publications
      • Middlebury Magazine
    • Box Office – link to Online Box Office
    • Performing Arts Series
    • Museum of Art
    • Library
    • Committee on Art in Public Places
    • General Information
    • Contact
  • Resources
    • Campus Map
    • Facilities
      • McCullough Student Center
      • Ralph Myhre Golf Course
      • Rikert Ski Touring Center
      • Middlebury College Snow Bowl
      • Rohatyn Center for International Affairs
      • Scott Center for Spiritual & Religious Life
      • Jewish Center
      • Chellis House
      • McCardell Bicentennial Hall
    • Activities – an external site with the following sections
      • Student Organizations
      • Leadership Development
      • Middlebury Outdoor Programs
      • Performance Spaces
      • Winter Term Workshops
      • Orientation Trips
      • Transportation Information
      • Student Fundraising Projects
      • Student Leader Resources
      • Volunteering
      • Contact
    • Student Employment
    • Helpdesk
    • Human Resources
    • Jobs
  • Programs
    • Language Schools – landing page has graphical links to MMLA, Graduate Programs, Midd@Mills as well as textual links to each of the LS programs
      • Apply Now – each of these link out to the application
        • Arabic
        • Chinese
        • French
        • German
        • Hebrew
        • Italian
        • Japanese
        • Portuguese
        • Russian
        • Spanish
      • Dates & Fees
      • Events Calendar
      • Financial Aid & Scholarships
        • Kathryn Davis Fellowship
        • Vermont Teachers Scholarship
        • Minority Student Scholarship
        • Premio Fede
      • FAQs
      • Middlebury at Mills
      • Graduate Studies
      • Schools Abroad
      • Pre-College Programs
      • LS Alumni – link to Alumni Community
      • LS News – aggregate from central news source
      • Contact
      • General Undergrad LS program site
        • Academic Program
        • Undergraduate
        • Graduate – link to graduate section
        • Faculty & Staff
        • Students
        • Activities
        • Course Catalog
        • Apply Now
        • Dates & Fees
        • Financial Aid & Scholarships – school specific
        • FAQs
        • Contact
    • Graduate Programs
      • Apply Now
        • Chinese
        • French
        • German
        • Italian
        • Med. Studies
        • Russian
        • Spanish
        • DML
      • Dates & Fees
      • Financial Aid & Scholarships
        • Kathryn Davis Fellowship
        • Vermont Teachers Scholarship
        • Minority Student Scholarship
        • Premio Fede
      • FAQs
      • Language Schools