The University will officially launch a new homepage Thursday, following a month-long preview to accommodate feedback from the student body. It is the first major redesign of the website since 1998.
The new core website — consisting of the top 200 Princeton-related web pages — makes extensive use of school colors and has easy-to-navigate features like a home link, search link and webmail link on every page. It also has different sites for different audiences, such as students, alumni and faculty.
The home page also features a new system to make posting information easier and "universal accessibility" templates to make pages navigable with Braille keyboards or keyboard shortcuts.
"[We have added] consistent navigation and design features which give you a clear 'sense of place,'" said Reed Meister, head of the Web unit of the Communications Office, in an email.
The redesign was headed by the Communications Office and the Office of Information Technology (OIT). It is the result of a four-year process that began in 2001, when a Web Strategy Task Force began to analyze the University's web presence.
The biggest change, Director of Communications Lauren Robinson-Brown '85 said, is a new content management system that will give student groups and departments greater control over their websites.
Anyone with knowledge of web programming language can now add content to the site once it has been approved by the Office of Communications. "This will help student groups [that] in the past might have had to hire web people," Robinson-Brown said. "Now, any officer can just type in updates and post them online."
About 150 students submitted feedback forms after viewing the website preview and the site is being updated accordingly, Meister said.
"Some people think [the site] is a little busy, [while] some people like the artistic flow," Robinson-Brown said. "Some people absolutely love that we use the school colors; others have had enough of them." Many comments resulted from users' unfamiliarity with the site, Robinson-Brown said.
Some students suffered from "banner blindness" and could not find the search button, which is located in the banner at the top of each page, she said.
Students were particularly concerned when a weather link was removed from the initial design. "We heard very quickly from a lot of people that they wanted their weather back," Robinson-Brown said.
The OIT Help Desk and the campus Residential Computer Consultants (RCCs) are familiarizing themselves with the new site so they can handle questions and complaints.
"We really think it's going to be a lot better than the last [site]," said Amy Maletz '08, who works at the OIT Help Desk.
RCC Mike Lee '07 said an RCC/OIT training session scheduled for next week should help improve familiarity with the site.
"The new site's not quite so simple," he said, adding, "It definitely looks nicer."
Read More
Dean of Graduate School hosts TigerSide Chat to celebrate 125th anniversary
Ambre Van de VeldePriestley highlighted Princeton’s continued leadership in graduate education, noting four new PhD programs just within the past three years: biophysics, bioengineering, quantum science, and material science engineering.
Priestley highlighted Princeton’s continued leadership in graduate education, noting four new PhD programs just within the past three years: biophysics, bioengineering, quantum science, and material science engineering.
‘I thought someone was playing a prank on me’: Princeton releases early action decisions for the Class of 2030
Hayk Yengibaryan and Benedict HooperConsistent with past practice, the University did not release data on the number of students admitted through Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA).
Consistent with past practice, the University did not release data on the number of students admitted through Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA).
Newest minors include Computing, Society and Policy, forthcoming Education Studies
Haeon LeeThe faculty meeting on Dec. 1 saw a unanimous vote to establish a new minor in Education Studies, following the approval of the minor in Computing, Society, and Policy at the end of last spring semester.
The faculty meeting on Dec. 1 saw a unanimous vote to establish a new minor in Education Studies, following the approval of the minor in Computing, Society, and Policy at the end of last spring semester.