Robert Blizzard, Coordinator of Web Design and Analysis at University of Saskatchewan, is one of the 12 presenters of the 2018 Higher Ed WEBSITES Conference.
In this 4-question interview, Robert tells us about the best website advice ever, the most challenging part of the job of a higher ed web pro, a great web tool and shares a top 3 of favorite higher ed websites.
1) What is the best advice you’ve ever been given about higher ed websites?
Be patient.
Change on campus can often be very slow and then very fast. When you make a case for dramatic change, do so without any expectations and know that opportunities will arise over time to execute those changes. Universities are collaborative, collegial environments and it often takes time to bring others around to a new approach.
2) How do you cope with the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is not the technology or the content, it is always the lack of consensus in the university, a diverse group of people.
I mitigate this challenge by spending a lot of time in projects working with stakeholders, identifying priorities and measurable objectives. Typically, these are tied to student behaviour which then allows us to conduct user research and testing to find out how to achieve the desired results.
I engage stakeholders in discussions about what we want to achieve rather than how we should achieve it.
3) What is your favorite tool?
My favorite tool is Google optimize.
If you haven’t explored this recently, it is miles ahead of the former Google Experiments tool and makes it easier and faster than ever to setup an A/B or multivariate test in a matter of minutes.
4) What are your top 3 favorite higher ed websites?
- University of British Columbia
The team has done a great job of developing common templates that can be consistently applied across the site. The top level sites show clear evidence of significant user testing as we often find results in the field that validate decisions made on UBC site.
- University of Saskatchewan
Full disclosure, I work here. We’re proud of our admissions websites (admissions.usask.ca and grad.usask.ca) for providing a common experience for incoming students with content decisions made by prospective students. Each program is a near single page experience with most relevant content available to assist students making their decisions.
- St. Francis Xavier University
An undergraduate university with a clear focus on the student experience.
A conference focusing on higher ed WEBSITES?
The 2018 Higher Ed WEBSITES Conference (now available on-demand!) is a must for higher ed web professionals and teams looking for inspiration, ideas and best practices to kick off their summer projects.
Read below what a few of your higher ed colleagues who attended the 1st edition of the Higher Ed WEBSITES Conference say about the experience.
Tags: HEW18, Higher Ed News