Following the official unveiling Thursday of the University's newly designed webpage, students have begun to recalibrate themselves to their new home base — with mixed results.
In a recent poll at point.princeton.edu, 14 percent of survey participants called the website "terrible" and 25 percent were "not too fond of it."
However, 26 percent of survey respondents said they believed the new site was "alright" and 34 percent expressed positive opinions of the site.
According to the University, "The core Web site — the top 200 pages — is intended to convey a better sense of Princeton through new and updated content and more pictures, while retaining an emphasis on frequently refreshed news content."
The University believes the site will be as much of an improvement for the Princeton community as it will be for visitors, and notes on the site's description that "the new design and navigational structure will make it easier for users — internal and external — to find Web content."
Students, though, expressed concern that the site caters more to visitors than it does to current students.
"I think the point of it was to be more attractive to visitors. It made more of an improvement for prospective students than students who are already here," said Bruce Halperin '08, noting the improvements to the admissions pages, which include additional images and links.
Yet Horace Greeley High School senior and current applicant Robert Cousins disagreed. "Aesthetically the new website is more orange-and-black, but functionally [the new and old sites] appear about equal," he said. "I think that since the change is predominantly aesthetic, those who will benefit most are those that use the website most, [that is] current students."
Director of Web Communications Reed Meister pointed out that a balance had to be maintained between audiences inside and outside the University.
"One of challenges is that it's both a public Internet site and an intranet site," Meister said.
He explained that some pages are intended for members of the University community, whereas others are aimed at an audience without previous contact with the University.
"One of the things that's very helpful to the outside world is the overview pages that tell a story about the University. That's not very interesting to the inside world," he said.
An additional student concern is the site's organization.
"I like the way the site was broken down before . . . it was a more logical organization," said Neta Levanon '08, adding, "I feel like Blackboard and Webmail were a lot more accessible before." Her concern about Webmail being relegated to small print in the corner resonated with many of her peers.
Meister, though, called the new navigation "more intuitive."
University Director of Communications Lauren Robinson-Brown '85 acknowledged the concerns, saying that additional links would be created on the website in response to feedback from students unable to locate important features.
University web designers will devote at least a month of "intense focus on the site," she said.
Even as she recognized the validity of student complaints, Robinson-Brown said unfamiliarity with the new site may have prompted much of the discomfort.
Some students who voiced complaints agreed. Levanon qualified her concerns about the new site by calling herself "a creature of habit."
Jeffrey Wayno '07 also betrayed a hint of nostalgia. "Unfortunately, I'm so used to the old site that I don't really know where to find things [now]
. . . there was something really pleasing about the simplicity of the old site," Wayno said.
But Meister remains confident in the new site.
"With any redesign, we have differences of opinion. I would say we have a majority that is very positive, and some that are still getting used to it," he said.
The transition may seem less daunting for students who prefer the new site to the old.
Sunshine Yin '08 said she found the new site's organization to be "more coherent" than before, adding, "I think [the new site] looks a lot more professional than the old one . . . it's more colorful and organized and more easily accessible."
And Gary Li '08 expressed a common opinion when he said, "It doesn't seem like there are any real benefits. It's the same stuff. It just looks better."
Though the old site will remain available for a brief transition period, the new site will soon be the University's sole online gateway.
Students and other visitors are encouraged to submit their own comments on the new site at http://www.princeton.edu/main/tools/feedback/.
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