Wayzata Public Schools Graduates to New Branded Website
The Wayzata Public School District has launched a new website with Grade A navigation and functionality, highlighting their notable brand and key district messages.
The district has always provided important and valuable information to students, parents, visitors and the community through their website, but an evaluation showed that it could be better and easier for users to find and use information by streamlining the functionality and navigation. The changes have proven successful and have led to a number of benefits for both users of the site and the staff that updates content:
(*please note that each elementary, middle school, high school, district level, athletics, etc are referred to as a “site”)
1. Consistency – within each site* the navigation has been condensed and now remains consistent across all sites, allowing users to know exactly where to look for information each and every time they move from one to the other. The main navigation provides the bulk of the interactivity for the user. The sign-in area in the upper right hand remains consistent and allows users to easily switch between the sites.
2. Communication – the homepage of each site has been defined as the center point for effectively communicating updated need-to-know information with users. The most pertinent information or update is highlighted in the featured area of all sites, incorporating messages from both the district and the individual school or group. Not only does this allow for all levels to effectively communicate with parents, students and users but it also keeps everyone updated on new events, changes and information without having to search for it. School closings or other district-wide alerts will run at the top of each site as needed and will be determined at the District level.
3. Functionality – a major component of a highly effective website is the usability, interactivity and search functions. These aspects have been expanded and incorporated to ensure that the user is given the most ease in navigating during their visit to the site and the ability to know where they have come from by the use of breadcrumbs on internal pages.
4. Design – Using original photography from each school, we were able to show the personality and passion in each site with children and energy in the backgrounds to reflect the presence of “Excellence. For each and every student.” The website design captures the brand while also incorporating website best practices and ease of navigation with the user-friendly functionality of the site.
5. Vision – through this expansion for consistency, communication, functionality and web design, the District’s model of excellence in exceptional student learning, experiences and relationships is evident. There is community trust, confidence, partnership and operational excellence!
The District’s content-rich website and commitment to communication is evident throughout the new site that CEL was proud to design and help implement.
Congratulations Wayzata Public Schools! We applaud you for your commitment to families and the community!
Published on: May 7, 2013