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New NIU.edu homepage debuts

July 24, 2017

A new http://www.niu.edu/ NIU homepage debuted today. The new design continues to be responsive and mobile friendly. It marks the first significant upgrade to the homepage in three years, and for the first time in the 20-year history of the homepage, a scrolling feature that fills the entire screen.

The content – created by the Institutional Communications department – is geared towards prospective students and includes sections with information for applying to and visiting NIU.

The new homepage was designed and coded by Brian Walk, director of Web Strategies and Services in the Office of Web & Internal Communications, and takes into account the latest university brand standards and web standards. The Web Team conducted usability and accessibility testing with dozens of volunteers to ensure that the new page is easy and intuitive to navigate.

The site features beautiful photography and videography produced by the Institutional Communications office. It also includes a social component that features posts by current students from the HuskiesofNIU Instagram account.

“We are excited about this update to the homepage,” said Jennice O’Brien, senior director for Web & Internal Communications. “This gives us many more opportunities to engage prospective students with content and features that appeal to them and promote the university’s outstanding academic programs.”

The navigation for the most part remains the same with no major changes to the global, top or the footer navigation. The audience navigation has been nested under a pull-down menu at the top of the page.

The new homepage design complements the existing template used by the rest of the university.

The Web Team plans to further roll out the new look on the primary recruitment-focused web pages of the main NIU.edu website.