Get to know the best web design and user experience practices for educational institution websites to consolidate digital marketing strategies.
Concerning a user or student's experience when browsing the website of a university is no longer seen as a difference, it is practically an obligation. Improve visibility of the brand, attract more visitors and increase your conversions with today's article.
Discover what today's article has in store for you:
The importance of UX for higher education websites
What are the essential UX and Web design practices to apply to a website?
Happy reading!
The importance of UX for higher education websites
When developing a new website, user experience must be a priority so that navigation is pleasant and differentiated, allowing the user to continue interacting with the educational institution.
By focusing on your customer, UX will make your users and students always feel good. Naturally, by integrating user experience into your business, your students will feel more receptive,disseminating your positive moments with the brand to the people around you.
It is worth highlighting that user experience and web design must go hand in hand so that the educational institution's website is successful.
What are the essential UX and Web design practices to apply to a website?
So far, we've talked about the importance of using UX and web design for a business. To make things easier, we will mention some attitudes that are essential to be applied immediately.
1. Responsiveness first
With the rise of smartphones since 2015, Internet access via mobile devices surpassed the desktop. That's why it has become mandatory that your website is adapted to work correctly on smaller screens. It is through responsiveness that the user experience will be ideal on mobile devices.
Furthermore, the world's main search engine, Google, is also influenced when searching, being compatible with smartphones and tablets has a positive impact on positioning factors in Google searches.
Based on the growth rates of access via smartphones, the term mobile first, with web projects initially developed for mobile devices and later, with adaptations for desktop and other platforms.
In 2018, Google announced that indexing and ranking in searches would give priority to mobile-first sites.
Through a team of experts in the theme, it will be possible to transform your educational institution's website responsive, optimized and ready to convert.
In July 2024, Google completed its transition to mobile-first indexing, and will now exclusively use the mobile version of websites for indexing and ranking purposes.
This means that, starting July 5, 2024, websites that are not mobile-friendly may no longer be indexed by Google, significantly impacting their visibility in search results.
Therefore, it is essential to ensure that your educational institution’s website is fully responsive and optimized for mobile devices.
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2. Minimalist and functional design
Thinking strategically about the harmony of colors, fonts and organization of information and page responsiveness will directly contribute to improving the perception of value of a product or service.
The simpler, more direct and faster the website navigation, the less user frustration will be. Therefore, data such as contact, search field, social media buttons must be easily accessible.
Today, there are online tools available to analyze the content of a web page and generate suggestions to improve navigation usability. O Page Speed Insights from Google is a free alternative that presents a series of changes that can be made to improve the website's UX.
In May 2024, Google updated PageSpeed Insights to Lighthouse 12.0, bringing significant changes including the removal of the PWA category and the introduction of new performance metrics such as Interaction to Next Paint (INP), which is now considered a Core Web Vitals metric.
These updates reinforce the importance of continually monitoring and optimizing site performance, especially on mobile devices, to ensure a good user experience and improve search rankings.
In the paid version, one of the most famous tools in the marketing universe is Lucky Orange, which creates a heat map of your website and allows you to observe your user's behavior in real time.
Lucky Orange recently introduced Page Insights, which provides a detailed view of visitor behavior on each page of the site.
This functionality combines engagement metrics with signals that help identify issues or opportunities for improvement, providing direct access to heatmaps and session recordings for deeper analysis.
This integrated approach makes it easier to identify friction points in navigation and contributes to the ongoing optimization of the user experience.
Caption: User experience and web design go hand in hand: designing with the user in mind is essential to attracting, engaging and retaining visitors to your institution's website.
3. Clarity of information
Offering clear and direct language will keep visitors engaged, without creating confusion during navigation. It is worth highlighting that clear language goes beyond the content. The distribution of visual elements in the page layout must be objective so that the visitor understands what actions are available to them on the website.
4. Pay attention to CTAs
The call to action or CTA can be understood as a message, a link or button that directs the user to make a navigation decision, facilitating or indicating to the user what can be done.
Don’t forget to use call to actions aimed at subscribing to newsletters from the educational institution or subscribing to exclusive content. This is a way to capture user data for future conversions.
Summary: Ensuring strong user experience (UX) and effective web design practices is essential for educational institutions aiming to stand out online. Responsive sites, functional layouts, clear language, and strategic CTAs enhance digital presence, boost lead generation, and improve search engine rankings.
Now that you understand the best ways and practices to improve the UX and Website of an educational institution, put them into practice immediately by contacting professionals who specialize in educational branding.
How to elevate your educational website with UX and strategic web design
Why are UX and web design so important for educational institutions?
They influence brand perception, improve user navigation, and boost conversions. A site with solid UX builds trust and leads prospects more efficiently to enrollment.
What is responsive design and why is it a must?
It ensures the website adapts to different screen sizes like phones and tablets. Since July 2024, Google only indexes mobile versions, so responsiveness is critical for maintaining online visibility.
What are the benefits of minimalist design?
A clean, well-organized layout enhances content clarity and reduces user frustration. Key elements like contact info, search fields, and social buttons must be easy to locate.
How do tools like PageSpeed Insights and Lucky Orange improve UX?
PageSpeed Insights suggests technical improvements for better performance. Lucky Orange offers heatmaps and session recordings, helping you understand user behavior and optimize navigation.
What are CTAs and how should you use them effectively?
CTAs (calls to action) guide visitors to actions like subscribing to a newsletter or accessing premium content. They must be visible, concise, and aligned with your page structure.
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