Rachel Decker
The Paw Print
On Friday, Jan. 13, Adams State students logged onto the school’s website to find the newly released design. After a year of research, designing, and hard work, the Communications Staff released the new layout of Adams.edu.
The previous site design was created in 2004, and at the time was a very useful tool. As the years went by and technology advanced, the site was in need of a makeover. As stated by Director of Communications Mark Schoenecker in a recent news release on Adams.edu, “Primary objectives in the redesign were to streamline site navigation and to incorporate more functionality.”
Many feel that the new website lives up to its purpose: it’s more modern, streamlined, and simpler in some aspects. New students to Adams State that just began their first semester feel it’s much easier to understand compared to other school websites.
“I can find what I need so much faster than before,” says Andrea, a new student to Adams State. “The links at the top really help.”
Schoenecker also stated in the same news release that, “The new design is more image-centric. We are increasing the presence of videos on our site, and are revising key messages. The redesign also gives us tighter integration with existing social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube. It will also prepare us to move the site to utilization by mobile devices. It’s estimated that in 2012, more than 50 percent of broadband content will be delivered to mobile devices.”
In this day and age, most students rely on mobile internet devices, such as smart phones, iPod Touches, and tablets, to get their information. The new layout is assumed to be optimal for devices of that nature, and should aid in helping students find what they need much easier, no matter where they are.
Not everyone is pleased with the new website, however. Some students are actually finding it more difficult than before to navigate the new design, and several say they were caught off guard by the changes.
“My homepage was set to Portal, and when I opened the Internet that morning, portal was just gone,” said one sophomore. “I knew there would be a new website, but I didn’t know that it was going to change up Portal too.”
The Portal, which used to be it’s own separate page of Adams.edu is now merged with the One Stop page, which has its upsides and downsides. Students say that, along with the sudden change to their expected website appearance, many had no idea where to find several things.
“The link at the top for the One Stop page are a lot smaller than I would have expected,” says Brittany, a freshman in her second semester at Adams. “It took me a while to find it, and then I was surprised to see that Portal was there.”
Some find themselves falling right in the middle of the two views- they enjoy the new website, but it will take some getting used to.
“It’s great, I really like it,” said one senior. “I’ve used both layouts now, but the new design is much better. I’m still figuring out how to get to a few things, but once I get it down, it will be a lot better.”
Overall, though the site is much different, and some are struggling to adjust, many feel it has been an overall improvement to Adams State’s internet appearance. It is hoped that the new layout will aid future students in the decision to attend Adams State College, and that the application process will be easier than ever.
What’s Been Said…