The Ohio State University Web site, www.osu.edu, got a cyber-haircut in preparation for the 2009 school year. Last week, the university unveiled a new layout for the site in an effort to make it more functional and user-friendly.
“The old site’s code base needed to be drastically updated,” said Ted Hattemer, the director of New Media for Ohio State.Eric Paljieg, a junior in medical technology, shares Hattermer’s diagnosis of the old site.
Screenshot from the new Ohio State Web site.“Some pages on the old site were inaccessible on computers not running Windows, or presumably OS X,” Paljieg said. “I run a Linux computer myself and not being able to access certain sections was a real pain. This seems to have been fixed in the new site.”
The front page now acts as a portal to all the primary OSU pages. Categorical dropdown menus provide links to the most important pages for future students, current students, alumni and faculty/staff.
“By presenting them in dropdown menus, [the new site] has nearly twice as many links on the home page,” Hattemer said. Some students already appreciate the accessibility of pages. “I like that you can get to Buckeye Link from the home page,” said Jonathan Terry, a sophomore in pharmaceutical sciences.”There’s a lot of information to display, but the layout never feels too crowded,” Paljieg said.
In addition to the dropdown menus, a new “Most Popular Links” section shows users which pages other people frequent the most.
“The links are updated in real-time,” Hattemer said. “They will match the time of year. At the beginning of the quarter, class schedules might be at the top; toward the end of the year, view my grades [might be].”
The look of the Most Popular Links has drawn some criticism on the redesign blog, with comments that differing font sizes look “amateurish” or “cluttered.” The presentation style has become a popular industry standard, but Hattemer said it still may be switched to a simple numbered list.
“We’re going to study it and continue the conversation around campus,” said Hattemer.
The Web site also operates at a larger default resolution than the previous site, which accommodates the growing number of visitors using larger screen resolutions and cutting the amount of empty space along the edges.
“The centered page is long overdue,” Terry said.” The previous version was only 640 pixels wide, leaving half the screen ugly and gray.”
Along with the new look, there are many new features. Current students can sign up for e-mail reminders of important deadlines for the University Registrar and the academic calendar. Hattemer said he promises the e-mail service will not send spam.
The site also includes a regular podcast, Buckeye Loop, created by student interns. The weekly podcasts will discuss student life and upcoming campus events.
Other new features include a student-submitted Image of the Day, an O-H spirit page and a brand new International page for information about studying abroad and admissions information for Ohio State’s growing international population.
According to recent statistics, 85,000 to 95,000 individual users visit the OSU site daily. This month’s peak for users occurred on Sept. 9 when 106,097 separate IP addresses paid a visit.
Donnie Clark can be reached at [email protected].
