The document discusses best practices for website design, including providing original, up-to-date content targeted to the intended audience. Websites should have simple layouts with user-friendly navigation and optimize content for mobile devices. Interactivity through features like videos, photos, polls and social media can enhance user engagement. Regularly updating content and promoting online registration are also recommended.

1. Best web sites
Suzanne Kart, CeP, M.A.
Associate Vice President
LERN
#lern13 @suzannekart

2. Challenges of web design
• Seldom do we have complete control over
what it will look like.
– May have to conform to style of an umbrella site
• Don’t always have access to a professional
web designer
• Time is at a premium
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3. BEST SITES SHARE COMMON
ELEMENTS
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4. Original, Fresh Content
• Content is king.
• People visit for the primary purpose of finding
information – make sure you deliver.
• Your content should be:
– Up to date
– Unique
– Fresh – fresh content will keep visitors (and search
engines) coming back
#lern13 @suzannekart

5. Austin Community College
• They’re
telling us
what’s
happening
right now
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6. City of Mountain
Home (Idaho)
Parks and Recreation
Department
• What’s working here is
that they are updating
their content every
couple of days,
resulting in higher SEO
#lern13 @suzannekart

7. Target Audience
• A good website will have headlines and text
that speak to the target audience’s needs and
wants.
#lern13 @suzannekart

8. Bucks County Community College
“Whoever you are and
wherever you are in your
career/life, learning will always
be a step that leads to growth.
Training which results in
certificates and credentials can
lead to great success in many
fields. Bucks County
Community College provides
various areas of training to
individuals seeking to improve,
and propel themselves into
tomorrow’s jobs.”
#lern13 @suzannekart

9. The Learning Oasis
• Career resources for
women
• Very clear how they
can help you
• They have a great
blog with lots of
inspirational and
useful information
for women
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10. Simple layout
• Pages read straight forward from top to
bottom
• Less eye skipping
• Solid browsing experience
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11. Okanagan College
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12. Milwaukee School of Engineering
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13. User-friendly Navigation
• A good website has content that’s easy to find.
• Navigation should be consistent from page to
page.
• Make sure all your links are working.
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14. Castro Valley Adult & Career Education
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15. Autry Technology Center
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16. Design the content, not the page
• Don’t decorate, communicate
• Softer, receding page “furniture” (permanent
elements)
• Strong color and 3D effects that draw
attention to the content itself
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17. Alaska Bar Association
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18. Icons, used sparingly
• Icons can convey a message quickly
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19. College of Southern Idaho
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20. Nice big text
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21. #lern13 @suzannekart

22. North Berwyn Park District
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23. Your print catalog still
generates 75% of
registrations
• DO NOT ELIMINATE THE
PRINT CATALOG
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24. Mobile optimization
• Over 34% of all mobile users have gone online
from their phone. They do so at least once a
week.
• 85% of people between 18 and 26 go online
regularly from mobiles, with that number being
as high as 91% in Asia.
• 40 to 50 year olds are just as likely to go online as
people aged 30 to 40.
• 29.80% of mobile shoppers abandon poor mobile
sites before completing purchase or research
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25. Drake University
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26. Canadian Marketing Association
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27. eMarketing strategies that work
Brochure/Web Mix
• Picture of brochure on Home Page
• URL on cover and back cover of your brochure
• Encourage people to go to your web site
• Sign up for mailing list on your web site
• Encourage people to register online
#lern13 @suzannekart

28. Hawaii Community College
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29. Web site strategies that work
• Multimedia and interactive features enhance
interest
• Video clips, audio, color, pictures, animation,
photographs, all generate more interest
• Polls, blogs, social networks and other interactive
features get people involved, which leads to more
registrations
• Live Person and other ways to communicate all
help
#lern13 @suzannekart

30. Orange Community Education &
Recreation
When you hover over these local pictures, they
take you to different pages like “snowboarding”
#lern13 @suzannekart

31. YouTube
• 70% of Americans use YouTube
• Allows your customers to actually see
something about your program
#lern13 @suzannekart

32. Schoolcraft Community College
TinyURL.com/SCVideoExample
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33. Some other great web site techniques
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34. Promote online registration
• Online registration is more cost effective
• It allows you to respond better and faster
• It creates more services and benefits for learners
• It will lower staff time
• It is the way people purchase in the 21st century
• Eventually 90% of registrations will be online
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35. University of Wisconsin Parkside
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36. Search pages
• Recommend at least four ways to search:
– Location
– Category
– Course number
– Key word search
• The more ways to search, the better.
#lern13 @suzannekart

37. University of New Mexico
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38. Ways past participants can help
improve your web site.
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39. Post past participant work on your
web site
• It shows potential participants what others
have done.
• The message is “you too!” can do this.
• It is peer-to-peer marketing.
#lern13 @suzannekart

40. Langara College
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41. Have your customers create content –
that’s web 2.0!
Think -
– Surveys
– Feedback
– Preferences
– Learner projects
– Comments
– Pictures
– Video clips
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42. Texas A&M Engineering
Extension Service
• Video
• Pictures
• Social
Media
#lern13 @suzannekart

43. Thank you!
• Suzanne Kart
• kart@lern.org
• Connect with via social
media at suzannekart.com
#lern13 @suzannekart