A Site that Works for Working Adults
Deliverables
Web StrategyMessagingWeb Design & DevelopmentSince its founding over 50 years ago, Amberton University has been singularly focused on providing adult learners with a top tier education. The University was ahead of its time in engaging with an audience that has since grown significantly in higher education — but their website had fallen behind.
Make it Crystal Clear
We conducted user tests, internal workshops and a landscape analysis to better understand the sea of universities that serve adult learners. As we got to know the audience, it became clear that many potential adult learners don’t believe they have the time to pursue higher education. A need for clarity emerged, especially around what degree programs were available and how much time investment they require.
Bring the Best to the Surface
The sitemap of the existing Amberton website was placing too much emphasis on current students. Our research showed they were turning to their internal student portal for information rather than the marketing site. We reprioritized information to focus on prospective students, with a special focus on the four things that would make their decision easier — program information, key facts about the university, tuition & aid resources, and how to apply.
Make it Attainable
With a new sitemap in place, we turned to the content hierarchy and revised the strategy to support the audience’s journey. We drastically simplified the degree programs pages, pulling key information out of large tables and lengthy paragraphs into summary formats that made comparing degree options easy. This shift reinforced our core message that this type of education is attainable for working adults.
A New Visual Direction
With a sound content strategy in place, we began devising a visual style that would maintain simplicity while introducing a deeper, more dynamic feeling to the site. We took inspiration from the student-focused photography and introduced new ways to treat photos that added depth while keeping the students front and center.
Testimonial videos about the Amberton experience provide validation and greatly increase the storytelling on the page.
We clarified the focus of Amberton’s degree programs, both on page and in the navigation.
We used multiple CTA styles throughout the site, but always kept a clear route for prospectives students to reach out.