Preparing a website for a college must be an intimidating task even for a seasoned website developer. There is a huge amount of information to be conveyed. Many decisions have to be made about how to structure the navigation so that people can find the information they want quickly and easily.
I have often found it difficult to find certain bits of information on the Douglas College website, but I assumed my own stupidity was the problem. However, after viewing Langara College's website, I think this site's organization makes it easier to find information quickly.
My initial reaction to Langara's home page was that it was plain and boring. However, the lack of clutter makes the site easier to use. The Langara site puts many, many links on the home page, but it is still very readable because of the white background and the small but easy-to-read font. The links are logically organized into sections. The all-important information about fields of study is in the upper right section of the page. Fields of study are divided into six groups, and these six links appear on the home page. Clicking on a link leads to a page that has its own distinctive colour and a beautiful photograph. Information within these pages is also organized very well.
Langara's home page has three columns of links divided into Study Options, For You and Learn More. It's easy to find the appropriate link to answer any question.
At the bottom of Langara's home page, there are three columns: News, Events, and a scrolling social networks section. I liked this latter feature, which allows the viewer to quickly see the most current comments and events, and to choose amongst a variety of social networking sites.
Langara's site maintains site consistency by having "LANGARA: THE COLLEGE OF HIGHER LEARNING" on every page, in their "brand" rust colour. The small font and plain white background stays the same throughout the site.
I initially thought the Douglas website was more attractive because the home page was more colourful and visually interesting. The revolving feature story banner at the top, with its headlines and photos, attracts interest. I like the way the Douglas login feature is near the top of the page and easy to see, as it appears in two of the website"s main colours, magenta and turquoise. The Douglas site maintains consistency with the use of the Douglas College logo on each page.
Like the Langara website, the Douglas website has many links on the home page. The difference is that they are not as well organized and overwhelm the viewer. I've spent a lot of time on the Douglas website over the past two years. I've been lost many times. It seems there are different routes to get to the information; either that or I can't remember how to access certain things from one time to the next.
The comparison between the two websites isn't entirely fair because many of the problems I've had with the Douglas website have been in the myDouglas section. Being an outsider, I can't get into the internal part of the Langara site to see how it compares.
Overall, I prefer the Langara College website because its visual simplicity and excellent organization make information retrieval quick and easy.
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