Case Study Archives: St. John's University Creates Leading Web

Chosen as one of the best University Web sites in the country by Admissions Marketing Report, and recently awarded the "Standard of Excellence" Award from the Web Marketing Association, the St. John’s University site has become a success on many levels.
    BrandLogic began by developing a structure based on user type and need. Through a discovery process that involved meetings with over 200 University members, St. John's determined to simplify the 8,000-page site, which was overly complex.

BrandLogic created and implemented the new site in only four months. The 8,000 pages of content were edited and refreshed, and the disparate navigation styles and graphic looks from the various schools and departments were integrated into a unified look and feel, to represent one St. John’s.

An additional benefit of the collaborative effort is compliance with the ADA standards for accessible design. The site offers a number of features that help disabled students, including a friendlier format for Blind Assist Reader Technology and more text-based content.

St. John’s new Web site leverages the Microsoft.NET platform to enable simple, direct content management by individual professors and departments. BrandLogic custom-built the content management tools to put the content owners back in control.
    "Now content updates that used to take hours take only 15 minutes to complete. We’ve reduced the need for specially-trained administrators and shortened the training period," St. John's Web Technology Director said. "It’s so easy; there’s practically no learning curve."

Content owners also have an online library of several thousand images, and many "themes" that enable them to create on-brand content that is tailored for their own audiences.

By all accounts, the new site is a success, and the University reports that online enrollments are up almost 40% this year already. "We've hit every target objective," concluded the Director. The new St. John's University site can be seen at stjohns.edu.