In this 4-question interview, Dave 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?
The number one reason web projects fail is the lack of end user involvement. The best advice I’ve ever been given about higher ed website development is to involve the end users early and often.
Make sure you involve the right individuals too, don’t get caught creating a custom web application for the administrators of the system, involve the actual end users.
2) How do you cope with the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job as a professional working in higher ed is the sheer number of emails I receive.
In the past I was averaging 100 per day, but in recent years I have worked with the development team to create online systems to reduce the number of emails that come into the team, and in turn better serve our clients.
3) What is your favorite tool?
We’ve been pretty aggressive about making sure all new web applications we develop are WCAG 2.0 compliant. One of the best tools I’ve found to check web accessibility is SiteImprove’s Accessibility Checker chrome extension. What I love about it is how clearly and thoroughly it explains an issue and how to fix the issue.
4) What are your top 3 favorite higher ed websites?
- Grand Valley State University
It’s special to me because I’ve spent over 15 years with this baby! We’ve been through many revisions and improvements. What I like best about it is its Google PageSpeed Insights score 99/100 (hot like fire!!)
- University of Iowa
My friend works on the admissions team here and does a lot of work with their website. I admire their ability to customize messaging and personalize the experience for recruitment. I’m always checking their site for recruitment ideas.
- Cornell University
I borrowed many ideas from this site when we were looking to redesign our university site in 2016. At the time I thought the Cornell site did a superb job of packing in a lot of content and information into a clean homepage. The design still stands the test of time today.
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.