Ball State University is redesigning its Web site to go along with the new branding campaign, "Education Redefined."
A minor cosmetic change, which will consist of a few graphic changes, will occur at the end of September, Nancy Prater, university Web coordinator, said.
The main relaunch of the Web site, scheduled for the end of the Spring Semester, will be a blended process between Ball State and a consulting firm, mStoner.
"The relaunch project will entail changes in navigational design, information architecture, graphic design and writing of content," Heather Shupp, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said. "We're not sure who will do what yet,"
Shupp said the actual design scheme of the site will be aligned with the branding project in an effort to portray a more accurate image of Ball State.
"A Web site is essentially a front door to BSU and it's how most people get their first look, often the very first thing they see when searching for a college," Shupp said. "When we look at the home page, it will be images that support the branding campaign and convey immersion and collaboration with faculty."
Prater said she'd like the Web site to look cleaner and more modern, as well as function better for prospective and current students, faculty and staff.
Another major element in relaunching the Web site is the site's content management system. A CMS is the software program that runs a Web site in addition to being the interface that Web editors use to update their content, Prater said. She also said a benefit of CMS is that everyone can have access to the same materials, allowing multiple departments to easily access and post materials on their sites while maintaining consistency.
For at least six years Ball State has used a system called Vignette to update content.
"When we purchased [Vignette], it was the Cadillac of content management," Prater said.
One reason Ball State is changing CMS vendors is that the current CMS is so old that the company will no longer provide support for the version used by the university, Prater said.
"Seven years is ancient in terms of technology," she said.
Ball State has hired mStoner to aid in the selection of a CMS vendor for Ball State, Curt Westfall, director of systems technology for enrollment, marketing and communications, said.
Prater said there are about 450 systems in the marketplace.
"The systems we're looking at, at the upper end, look to be about $150,000 and at the lower end go down to $40,000," she said.
The higher-priced systems offer a broader range of functions and capabilities, she said.
Software will be paid for through normal university funds and a marketing fund will pay for the consulting firm, Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, said.
User input is important when dealing with Web sites, Prater said.
To facilitate this exchange of ideas and opinions, Ball State has set up a Web log at bsu.edu/blogcaster2/relaunch/. Prater said the blog was started in an effort to help people keep up with what's happening and as a way for those who are interested to stay updated.
"With something as big as a Web site that we all use every day, we want to get as many inputs as we can and we'll try to please as many people as we can," she said.
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