The Problem/Opportunity

The current Housing & Dining Services (HDS) website was built in a Content Management System known as MojoPortal. The university was transitioning all of it's websites to WordPress. Due to the nature of the transition, from .NET to PHP, we had the opportunity to redevelop the website from the ground up. The site is still being developed and should go live sometime in May.

The Process

I had my hands in each stage of the process for redeveloping this large informational website.

The major steps

• Research: Explored other university websites and did an analysis on our current site
• User Flows: Developed multiple user flows based on our most prominent audiences
• Analytics: Used Google Analytics form the current site to inform the information architecture and development of a site map
• Site Map: Created a site map based on the research, user flows, and analytics.
• Initial Mockup: Used Adobe Muse to develop an initial mockup of a few of the major pages (we used this to get approval from the Web Steering Committee to move forward with this project)
• Design Brainstorming: Worked with my communications team (project manager, graphic designers, and multimedia director) to determine a more concrete design direction and select a WordPress theme
• WordPress Implementation: Collaborated with our Web Developer to begin the migration of our site into WordPress (used Visual Composer to structure pages within our template)

User Flows

Site Map

The Solution

The final design utilizes a theme called Borderland and uses photos and imagery to reflect the Housing & Dining Services brand. We wanted to portray what it is like to live and dine on campus at CSU through great photos, while also providing the necessary information for our main audiences (potential students, current students, and parents/families) to make informed decisions about living and dining on campus.

The homepage

Community Options on Campus

Dining Hours of Operation

The Mega Menu