This week, we share insights on user-centered design, optimizing conversion pathways, implementing engaging content strategies, prioritizing mobile optimization and accessibility, and leveraging data-driven insights, for universities to achieve improvements in your website performance.
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Enhancing performance: 5 strategies to improve your higher ed website results

Content strategy Digital marketing Tips & advice Web development

Attracting and engaging prospective students, faculty, and stakeholders is a moving target for digital marketers who continuously need to adapt their strategies to obtain better results.

Students (and their parents) have high expectations of the higher education websites they visit, relying on them to inform their decision-making. It’s no longer just about providing information—it’s about providing an online experience.

So understanding how to enhance website performance is crucial for higher education digital marketers.

This week, we share actionable strategies and tips that university marketers and administrators can implement to improve their digital presence.

Whether you're looking to boost recruitment efforts or strengthen institutional branding, these practical insights can pave the way for significant improvements in your university’s website performance.

1. Steps to improve user-centered design and navigation

Effective university websites prioritize user-centered design and intuitive navigation.

It goes without saying that you have to focus on a mobile-first design, as a significant amount of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and implement responsive design techniques to ensure that the website adapts to different screen sizes.

Do a site audit

It’s important to conduct user testing with your target audience (engage your students!) and feedback loops to continuously refine the navigation structure based on actual user behavior to understand current navigation flaws.

We often use tools like heatmaps to provide additional insights into user interactions and inform layout adjustments in our design process, and we conduct regular usability testing with diverse user groups to gather feedback.

Invest in Search

The three clicks to reach essential information on a menu is dead. Invest in an advanced search tool to allow users to find information quickly, with filters for targeted search results (e.g., searching programs by faculty, degree level, or geographic location).

These days, it’s less about navigation—where menu items should be clearly labelled and limited anyway—and more about search. (When was the last time you used a mega-menu to navigate to what you were looking for on any site? Exactly.)

Speak to your audiences

A user-centered design focuses on understanding and addressing the needs and behaviors of users.

For universities, this means adapting to various stakeholders—prospective and current students, faculty, alumni, parents, and the public—by providing intuitive navigation and easily accessible information.

Develop your user personas to tailor content delivery for different audiences.

2. Steps to optimize conversion pathways

Improving conversion rates on university websites involves optimizing pathways that lead visitors to take desired actions, such as submitting inquiries, scheduling visits for campus tours, or applying for admission.

Implement strategic CTAs

Adding data-driven calls-to-action throughout your website, strategically placed based on visitor behavior and preferences identified through data analytics, will effectively guide prospective students through the enrollment journey.

  • Place your CTAs strategically based on heatmap data and visitor behavior from your site audit, and make sure they’re personalized and action-oriented (e.g., "Apply Now" instead of "Learn More").
  • Privacy concerns also mean that students are less likely to give you their information unless you offer a clear value proposition. So highlight the benefits of taking action (e.g., “Secure your spot in the next class intake” or “Request more information and get a personalized consultation”) to reduce that hesitation.
  • Next, test the effectiveness of your calls-to-action (CTAs) and landing pages with A/B testing.
  • If you have forms (inquiry forms, applications, etc.), make sure they’re short and easy to complete.
  • Complex or lengthy forms are a signifiant barrier to conversion, and we see this a lot. audit.
  • Implement automated follow-up emails for lead nurturing that guide students through the enrollment funnel.
    For example, prospective students can receive personalized emails based on their program of interest or the actions they have taken on the site.
  • You can tailor content for different audience segments, such as prospective students, parents, and alumni, to guide them along tailored pathways.
  • Utilize forms that are easy to fill out, minimizing fields to reduce friction during the inquiry or application process.

3.  Steps to engage students with good content

Engaging content is essential for capturing and maintaining the interest of website visitors.

  • Implementing a robust content strategy means including consistent storytelling through multimedia formats, virtual tours, and interactive features.
  • Use videos, blogs, virtual tours, and student testimonials to showcase campus life, academic achievements, and research initiatives.
  • It’s also important to use dynamic content to personalize experiences. For example, a prospective student interested in engineering should be shown related blog posts, faculty research, and engineering student experiences.
  • Interactive features can also help with engagement, like campus maps, program quizzes, or chatbots that guide prospective students through inquiries.
  • User-generated content (e.g., student testimonials) are also great to build trust and reliability.
  • This approach can not only showcase your university’s academic excellence and campus life but also foster deeper connections with prospective students and their families.
  • Measure engagement metrics (time spent on page, video views) to gauge content success.
  • Using multimedia storytelling through videos and virtual tours can help you build stronger connections with prospective students, leading to higher engagement rates and more informed application decisions.

4. Steps to optimize for mobile and accessibility

With a significant portion of website traffic coming from mobile devices, you have to make sure your higher education website is fully optimized and accessible on smartphones and tablets—as well as giant screens!

  • Start with a mobile-first design and scale up to larger screens so you can offer good performance and usability a great experience for your users.
  • By distributing your website content across multiple geographically dispersed servers with a Content Delivery Network (CDN) will make your site load faster, particularly for international students.
    It’ll also enhance accessibility and boost SEO rankings, as site speed is a critical factor in search engine algorithms. Furthermore, CDNs provide robust security features, such as DDoS protection, which safeguard against malicious attacks .
  • Enhancing responsiveness and accessibility features also really improves the user experience and engagement.
  • So it’s crucial to integrate accessibility features such as alt text for images, screen readers, keyboard navigation, and other assistive technology support to ensure all users can access information seamlessly.
  • Doing this as part of your site audit with students who actually need to use accessibility features will forever change how you approach accessibility. We highly recommend it.

5. Steps to use data to drive decision making

We’ve seen and contributed to lots of projects where successful university marketers leverage data analytics to make informed decisions about website optimization and digital marketing strategies—and this part is so key.

  • You can use advanced analytics tools to track user behavior, measure how well your campaigns are performing, and see where you can improve things.
  • By analyzing metrics such as bounce rates, conversion funnels, and demographic insights, you can continuously its website content and design to better meet the needs and expectations of its diverse audience.
  • Implementing these strategies empowers you to effectively showcase your unique offerings and engage effectively with your target audiences.
  • Use advanced analytics platforms that provide comprehensive insights into user behavior and campaign performance.
  • Set up key performance indicators (KPIs) for website traffic, user engagement, and conversion rates. Regularly analyze this data to inform strategic decisions, adjusting marketing and content strategies based on user feedback and behavioral trends.

By focusing on elements such as user-centered design, optimizing conversion pathways, and employing effective content strategies, you can create a more engaging online experience.

A well-optimized university website not only enhances recruitment efforts but also strengthens institutional branding and fosters meaningful connections with stakeholders in the competitive landscape of higher education.

If you'd like to know more, why not check out the webinar on "Improving Results on Your University Website" packed with actionable strategies and real-world examples for university marketers and administrators looking to enhance their digital presence.