uscTIMES
intr od the ucing sc new
Stories, snippets & scenes from the
.edu
University of South Carolina. Aik
en /
Beau
fort /
Columbia
S / L a n ca s t e r /
alke
h
ie / atch
S um
Unio ter /
n / Upstat e
9/ 1 6/2 0 1 3
a new Day is loading The new sc.edu will
The home page of sc.edu is getting a new
feature a responsive
look and a new content management
design, meaning it
system, representing a new way of thinking
will be usable on
about our website. The new design will
devices from smart-
gradually replace various Web designs that
phones to tablets to
have been in place for a dozen years.
desktop computers without installing
J.C. Huggins, director of Web
an app. About a
Communications, has spent 18
hundred pages will
months working with his team to
go live at launch on
develop a new and improved USC
Sept 18. Other aca-
website. Not satisfied with mere
demic and adminis-
cosmetic modifications, the team
trative pages will be
took an outside-in approach to
redesigned over the coming months, join-
both the site’s form and function.
ing the College of
The result is a visual feast that’s
Nursing and School
also easy to use, whether at your
of Music sites on the
desk or on the go.
new platform.
Why does USC need a new website? As the Web has evolved, so have expectations. It’s im-
site. This will lessen the problem of information being
portant to realize that the new site will not be judged
inconsistent or outdated.
against our old website — it will be judged against the other websites people visit every day. So presenting things in a visual and navigational language that visitors are familiar with is important.
Q
&
A
because all the changes will cascade throughout the
The old site was developed maybe 12 years ago, and, from a visual design perspective, it didn’t look very contemporary. Even more importantly, things break down pretty quickly when you’re trying to navigate the site. We found people predominantly used the search bar to find pages rather than trying to navigate through it; it’s out of frustration.
Will existing pages be affected? Your iTAMS, VIP and other important pages are not going away! It will just now be easier to find them because there will be one point of entry.
What was the inspiration for the new site? We looked at a lot of sites, but made a conscious decision not to limit ourselves just to higher education sites. Instead, we looked at best practices broadly from across the Internet. One feature people will notice is that the site will adapt itself based on whether you’re
How is the new site different?
looking at it from a desktop computer or a portable de-
We wanted a website that presents visitors with a true
vice. That’s called responsive design, which was pretty
feeling of what it’s like to be here at USC, so the first
cutting-edge when we first started researching our new
thing people will notice is that the visual design is very
site. It’s a great feature, especially for people who want
lively and engaging.
to access information no matter where they are.
We have audience-specific pages, called gateways, to help our internal audiences find what they want
Final thoughts?
easily. For example, if you’re a faculty or staff mem-
Change can be a bit jarring when you’re used to see-
ber, we’ve collected all the resources you’d likely want
ing something presented the same way for a long
to see in one place. It’s organized in a very intuitive
time, but I think faculty and staff will find what they
fashion, so the onus isn’t on you to figure out where
need quickly and easily. We’re also proud that we can
all these individual resources are located.
introduce USC to prospective students, parents and
For those at USC who maintain Web pages, the new platform — or content management system — will make it much easier to change and update information
others in an authentic, contemporary way.