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MyPLU Web tools available soon
February 02, 2007
Changes are coming to the PLU Web site that will significantly improve the web experience of students, faculty and staff.
The most visible pages on the site, the doorways, are receiving a significant facelift. The new design of the homepage and landing pages for current students, alumni, parents and faculty and staff will be unveiled online on Feb. 20.
The initial design enhancements are part of a larger plan to overhaul and rebuild all pages on the site, said Toby Beal, web content manager. The first changes will affect only the doorways.
“The new design features content geared more towards the audience,” Beal explained.
The new design is a mixture of text, graphics and event information that applies directly to its intended audience. For example, the current students’ doorway will feature information about student life events, while the faculty doorway might feature an upcoming academic conference.
The daily events from PLU’s events calendar will display on all of the doorway pages, and each doorway will be equipped with Google translations. The program translates the page’s text into seven different languages.
The doorways include a new feature, “MyPLU,” that allows individuals to customize the page by signing in using their ePass. Initially, customization will be limited to a bookmark feature. When users sign in with their ePass, the internal and external links the bookmarked will appear – regardless of where they are, Beal said.
For the first time, the Web site’s content isn’t geared only toward prospective students, Beal said. The new design shows the university is trying to cater to the interests and needs of current students, faculty and staff in order to make their Web experience more enjoyable.
Beal teamed with Information and Technology Services to design and implement the enhanced doorways. Last semester, the team met with students, faculty and staff to determine what was important to each audience.
The final details of the enhancements are still being determined. The team is looking into purchasing a content manager solution by the end of the fiscal year. The system would give campus offices the ability to build better Web sites, Beal said.
The initial design enhancements are part of a larger plan to overhaul and rebuild all pages on the site, said Toby Beal, web content manager. The first changes will affect only the doorways.
“The new design features content geared more towards the audience,” Beal explained.
The new design is a mixture of text, graphics and event information that applies directly to its intended audience. For example, the current students’ doorway will feature information about student life events, while the faculty doorway might feature an upcoming academic conference.
The daily events from PLU’s events calendar will display on all of the doorway pages, and each doorway will be equipped with Google translations. The program translates the page’s text into seven different languages.
The doorways include a new feature, “MyPLU,” that allows individuals to customize the page by signing in using their ePass. Initially, customization will be limited to a bookmark feature. When users sign in with their ePass, the internal and external links the bookmarked will appear – regardless of where they are, Beal said.
For the first time, the Web site’s content isn’t geared only toward prospective students, Beal said. The new design shows the university is trying to cater to the interests and needs of current students, faculty and staff in order to make their Web experience more enjoyable.
Beal teamed with Information and Technology Services to design and implement the enhanced doorways. Last semester, the team met with students, faculty and staff to determine what was important to each audience.
The final details of the enhancements are still being determined. The team is looking into purchasing a content manager solution by the end of the fiscal year. The system would give campus offices the ability to build better Web sites, Beal said.