Schools often want their digital presence to reflect the order and professionalism of their physical campus. Just as neatly trimmed hedges and well-kept lawns create a welcoming environment, a well-structured website ensures clarity and accessibility. However, with numerous departments, schools, and stakeholders, it’s easy for digital ecosystems to overgrow and become fragmented.
To tame a wild garden, experts from Harvard University and Brown University shared their insights in a recent webinar with Lullabot, one of their strategy, design and web development partners. Both universities have a sizable web presence on Pantheon.*
The following insights will be useful to schools of different sizes. Even if they are not at the scale of Harvard or Brown, smaller institutions still manage diverse data sources in various formats and locations. With thousands of catalogs, event calendars, and multiple audiences to consider, the complexity remains significant. Read on to learn how to create a unified and effective digital ecosystem.
Here are the top five lessons learned.
Lesson 1: Embrace decentralization with strategic governance
Decentralization is inherent in large universities, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It allows individual schools and departments to have autonomy and tailor their online presence to their specific needs and missions. However, this autonomy can lead to inconsistencies in accessibility, security and branding.
How-to:
- Segment digital governance by area (web presence, mobile apps, etc.)
- Define clear institutional policies for accessibility, security and branding.
- Establish guidelines for content creation, management and review and communicate them to all stakeholders.
Lesson 2: Invest in a centralized CMS
A centralized CMS can be a game-changer for large institutions. It provides a unified platform for content creation training and documentation, ensuring consistency and efficiency across the organization. Here’s how Lullabot’s Senior Content Strategist Erin Schroeder put it:
“When you think about website redesign and structure, it’s about the end experience on the other end of the screen, but there’s value in building a unified experience across the screen. So regardless of your authors’ experience, they can efficiently and confidently create a page of content, update their site, and keep it manageable for the audience they are trying to reach.”
However, choosing a single CMS is just the first step to figuring out a shared resource. Each school will have its own mission and different ways of expressing it. With a million plugins in WordPress and a variety of modules in Drupal, the university can still end up in a mad chaos of digital systems. Reigning in those creative liberties on a single WebOps platform that mandates privacy, security and accessibility is the next step of strategic governance.
How-to:
- Evaluate and select a CMS that meets the needs of all stakeholders.
- Choose a platform that can simplify managing hundreds+ of websites and enable unified digital governance.
- Provide training and support for stakeholders and authors.
- Develop a clear content strategy and editorial calendar.
- Establish workflows for content review and approval.
Lesson 3: Prioritize content and user experience
“Creating a great experience within a CMS is powerful, but it’s just one part of the equation. What truly makes an impact is building something people want to be a part of,” said Joel Pattison, Assistant Vice President for Web and Digital Experience at Brown University. “A key focus for me—one that has proven effective—is collaborating with teams across Brown to understand their content needs. By investing in available resources and leveraging essential tools for design systems and technology, we can create a more seamless and effective digital experience.”
In today’s digital age, content is king (and queen!). High-quality, relevant and accessible content is essential for engaging users, especially digital natives who have high expectations for online experiences.
Content management in a centralized CMS (such as open-source WordPress or Drupal) is crucial to getting rid of “content rot,” a familiar challenge in higher ed, especially when conflicting information exists. Institutional policies can serve as a unifying force, and leadership increasingly recognizes the need for centralized content management, said Kenton Doyle, Director of Web Publishing at Harvard University Information Technology. While content creation remains distributed, there’s growing awareness of the benefits of designated site administrators over the outdated model of dozens managing a single site.
How-to:
- Conduct user research to understand audience needs and preferences.
- Design intuitive and easy-to-navigate websites.
- Invest in resources to create high-quality videos, photos and written content.
- Ensure content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
For digital natives on our campuses.., what we find is that the simpler, the better. The quicker in, the quicker out – the more pleasing it is to them. Highly structured content is the guidance of the day.”
– Kenton Doyle, Director of Web Publishing at Harvard University Information Technology
Lesson 4: Leverage data for informed decision-making
Data analytics can provide valuable insights into user behavior, content performance and overall digital strategy effectiveness. Academic program pages are the most high-trafficked pages in any university. Many students may not even make it as far as a higher education website if they cannot find an answer through a simple Google search. Providing intelligent pathways and engagement points for students interested in those majors is crucial.
“The use of analytics fuels an arms race among different disciplines, each competing for the best talent,” said Doyle of Harvard.
How-to:
- Track website traffic, search queries, and other relevant metrics.
- Invest in search engine optimization (SEO).
- Analyze data to identify content gaps, user pain points and areas for improvement.
- Use data to measure the effectiveness of digital strategies and campaigns.
- Make data-driven decisions about content creation, website design and overall digital strategy.
Lesson 5: Prepare for the impact of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the digital landscape, and universities must be prepared to leverage its potential. According to Harvard’s Doyle, AI will have a largely positive impact, though much is still uncertain. In content auditing and taxonomy creation, AI can greatly improve efficiency by handling tasks traditionally done manually. This will speed up workflows and enhance accuracy. In search, AI-driven chat interfaces will become more trustworthy over time, benefiting digital natives who seek quick, relevant information.
How-to:
- Explore AI-powered tools for content auditing, taxonomy creation and search.
- Develop guidelines and policies for AI use.
- Stay informed about the latest AI trends and technologies.
- Consider the ethical implications of AI in digital governance.
By implementing these five lessons, universities can navigate the complexities of decentralization and create a unified, engaging, and effective digital ecosystem that serves the needs of all stakeholders. As Brown University’s Joel Pattison puts it:
We are never going to have as many engineers as Microsoft or any of those companies, but I think we can always be mindful of how we approach user experiences we are creating.”
*The views in this article are not expressed on behalf of institutions. The speakers have not endorsed any companies or services mentioned in this article.
