That’s a pretty innovative way to deal with the put-me-on-the-homepage syndrome all higher ed web designers have to face when it’s time to redesign a university/college website.
No fighting to find out which links to put there? Just go with what the web users want!
Beautiful, don’t you think so?
The new redesign is available as a preview and will go live on September 15.
OSU web team has invited comments on its redesign blog (as it did back in 2005 – geez, do I sound like the higher ed blogger grand’ma when I say that) from the campus community and some of them are pretty harsh.
The new design requires a lot of scrolling down, which is a different take from what’s out there.
Not sure, if it was the right design decision though, as I didn’t even think about scrolling down and discovered the page was longer only once I took the screen shot.
It’s definitely a big change compared to the current design:
I don’t know…I think it’s an interesting idea but I just don’t think it works. I agree with some of the comments – colleges have to maintain a certain image and I’m not sure Web 2.0 is really what they should be projecting. I just don’t think the general web user (someone who isn’t on blogs all the time) understands what a tag cloud is and why some fonts are bigger than others. I could be wrong…
We did a tag/link cloud on our home page but had to yank it down… students spent all day and night clicking on “Assessment Services” until the only thing in the cloud was “Ass” — no, not really.
Think it’s a great idea, but would like to know who determines the composition of the cloud — only the “predetermined” top 40 links have the chance to grow???
Will check their blog for the answer…
@Karlyn – Thanks for bringing this point. However, I think you don’t really need to know anything about Web 2.0 to click on the biggest words on the page…
Even if students/alums/donors/faculty don’t know why these words are bigger, they will be more inclined to click on them because they take more screen real estate. What I like about this idea is that these links can change over the course of the semester as user interests.
@Todd – now if a few students are playing the system, that might be a problem. So, it’s definitely something to factor in.
This may be a good idea in theory but what about situations where some links are very important only a few times in the year, like registration, etc. Will those links appear in the cloud if it’s already filled with links like web mail and portal? How long will it take to bubble up?
What I think is a bigger mistake however, is placing a second search at the bottom left of the page. This may cause confusion as to which is the primary search.
Perhaps it would be better to have more calls for action and hooks for actual tasks on the homepage…
Some of the comments in their blog revealed some confusion about the tag clouds. Some are thinking that it shows a university favoring of undergrads over grads. I battle this myth at my own school, and a misunderstood feature like this can add fuel to the fire.
Overall, I like their redesign. Its much cleaner than the current version and takes advantage of more screen real estate. It does border on too much content I think. A single page can’t be all things to all people, although university sites hold a ton of content and serve numerous audiences so you have to at least try.
The vast majority of people have no idea what Web 2.0 is. While some trends, like tag clouds, aren’t ready for prime time, I think there are some usability increases to be had from Web 2.0-style layout and designs (as vague as that sounds). I hope they’re doing some testing.
Some of those comments are pretty harsh. That’s a bit depressing, though there is some constructive feedback at least. I think its just a general fear of change.
@Rommil Good points, the perfect solution would be a combo of organic and “pushed” tags in this cloud.
The tag cloud is not the only piece of navigation on this page either, so there’s a way to balance things out.
@Erik – you’re right, but I wonder if we always need to please everybody for a website to do its job at specific time. Does this mean that this kind of tag cloud would work on affinity (prospective, current students, alums, etc.) pages then – once the audience filtering is done?
I don’t think the scrolling is the issue. I think it’s that they designed the page as bottom heavy, so you think you’ve ended the page when you haven’t (because of the full-width grey footer-like boxes).
I will never fail to understand why scrolling is considered evil…
And I think the tag cloud is a brilliant usage.
@Brian – you’re right. That’s what I meant. The design let me to think that the hompage ends on the first screen. No cues there to let me know I should scroll down for more.
I have to admit there are few things I hate more in web navigation than tag clouds. I see a tag cloud, I almost instantly leave the site it’s on. If and only if it is a site I really, really want / have to use, I may look for alternative (better) navigational aids.
Why? I find them messy, chaotic, unprofessional, cluttered and difficult to use – a guarantee for poor user experience. I honestly hope they are just a fad, hopefully soon to be abandoned and forgotten by web designers, alongside splash pages and unexpected background music – relics of a past full of popular design fads that reduce usability.
Maybe I should see a doctor and see if that means I have OCD or something.
@Karine – Sorry what I meant by Web 2.0 was more of a design sensibility that I’ve seen come along in the past few years…Web 2.0 probably wasn’t the right way to describe it. I still think it will be confusing to people – maybe the biggest word on the page has no value to them whatsoever. If they don’t understand why the words are bigger, than they could view it as intentional design choices (prospective undergraduates are more important than prospective graduates, who are all more important than current students). In addition to it not being the right choice for users of those types of websites, I just think they’re opening themselves up to a constant political battle with it.
I’m going to have to agree with Robert, I’m NOT a fan of tag clouds. They just look like such a mess and aren’t pretty to look at.
@Brian – I’m totally with you that scrolling isn’t evil and can be very important, but as it’s also been mentioned when you have a scrolling section because the page is trying to be all things to all people then this isn’t good. This page is simply too busy. There is so many options and so much to do it’s really confusing to know what I want to do first. It almost seems daily I’m becoming more of a fan of a homepage that simply splits me out into a handful of options and on those page give me more detail.
I definitely commend them for trying some different things that aren’t the norm. Even after being critical about so much stuff on the page, it is still well designed graphically, colorful, although a little odd on balancing.
I think the Website for Case.edu does a similar thing but not in a tag cloud. It launched new recently too. They have a top links toggle in their footer for select audiences. Not sure how its produced, but I like it better than the cloud. A lot! You’re right that it does help solve those higher ed homepage woes!
Anymore I feel like dragging people into where I think they should be when it comes to internet technologies. I don’t think being over 30 or 40 or 50 should be an excuse anymore. It’s all at your fingertips, if you’re willing to learn.
I love the idea of a tag cloud, but I haven’t approached my boss with it yet because I know I’ll have to explain to a bunch of people what it is.