Case Study
Website Redesign for Morningside University
Morningside University, located in Sioux City, Iowa, realized its website was not clearly communicating to global audiences the value of the university’s home-like campus community. Having previously worked alongside Morningside to articulate its brand, craft key messages, refine the logo and develop a corresponding graphic identity, Neuger sought to ensure the new website reflected their brand.
The Situation
Morningside University recognized its website was outdated and lacked fresh, compelling content. Department content that was valuable to prospective students was hidden away in pages intended for internal use. The university wanted to convey more information about its programming offerings and graduation guarantee to appeal to prospective students and families and increase enrollment.
The Communications Challenge
The site had grown to thousands of pages, making it hard to navigate. The site’s mobile layouts were lackluster and did not load fast enough, causing them to miss out on traffic from a crucial audience. The beautiful media and messaging they worked hard on just wasn’t coming through in the website experience.
The Strategy
We started by conducting research and audience definitions to ensure we were setting appropriate goals for the redesign. Next came a large-scale content audit to determine which of the existing content was needed and what could go. A content plan was created to make note of new information that was missing and streamline navigation.
Our design team created several renderings of key pages within the new user experience, including the home page, undergraduate program pages, admissions pages and more. Our digital and communications teams coordinated with the marketing team on the writing of pages and with the web services team on the implementation of the site.
The Results
The new site launched in October 2019 and was well received by both internal and external audiences. The academic program pages are seeing a 84% increase in pageviews, and the admissions department page traffic has increased by 9%. Across the site, the bounce rate has decreased by 8.5%, meaning that users stay to learn more and do not leave after viewing a single page. Goals have been met for new student applications, and we continue to work together and monitor for continued improvements.