NYU.edu Website Redesign

About this Project

The New York University Digital Communications Group oversaw the complete redesign of the central NYU website. As the Training & Support Specialist I regularly interact with the website content authors who would be affected by this redesign, so I partnered with the Digital Communications Specialist to develop a comprehensive communication strategy and copy library in addition to creating and facilitating all necessary training.

Timeline: January - August 2016

Developing a Communication Strategy

The primary goal when developing our strategy was to effectively communicate so that all audiences felt aware and prepared to navigate the updated NYU.edu. There were two defined audience segments, each with specific goals:

Site viewer goals

• Prevent surprise by generating public awareness.

• Educate on any changes that may impact specific site viewers.

• Promote new and existing important features.

Content management system (CMS) user goals

• Make users aware of transition dates.

• Educate on what is and is not changing in the redesign.

• Inform how to best prepare for transition and schedule optional information sessions.

• Illustrate how existing pages will be transitioned.

• Identify our expectations of users during the transition.

Creating a Copy Library

Inspired by our summer launch date, we developed a campaign theme around the "refreshment" of the website.

NYU.edu Refresh
mobile-friendly | new look | improved user experience

The overall voice and tone for redesign communications could be best described as:

• Tempered excitement: focus most on the site being mobile-friendly

• Matter of fact but always leaning optimistic and humorous, when appropriate

• Confident, concise, self-assured and without embellishments

• Specifically for CMS users - incentivizing attention and participation.

After the strategy was approved by the project leads, we developed our key messages in varying lengths (short, medium, and full copy) that could be used interchangeably and for any audience.

Communicating with CMS Users

It was important to notify our CMS community that while their content would change in appearance, only some components would be retired or change functionality.

Email notifications began 10 weeks in advance of the launch and featured essential information, schedules of information sessions to attend, and a rotating section introducing new website components. The Digital Communications Specialist hand-coded each email to ensure mobile-friendliness.

The Digital Communication Group's Twitter account was also utilized to post updates, tips for how to use the new website, and behind-the-scene looks of the launch process.

Launch Announcement Video

Following the launch of the refreshed NYU website, we also shared a celebratory video on social media. This was created using design material used throughout the campaign in addition to live recordings taken during the actual launch.

Sharing Our Process

In July 2018, I represented NYU at the eduWeb Digital Summit in San Diego along with our Digital Communications Specialist, where we discussed the planning process behind our communication strategy for the redesign of the NYU website. We also provided participants with a communication planning guide that they can use and adapt to support their own communication efforts.

Additional Campaign Images