A visit to the English department's new website finds a quote from philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein set above a large picture of a stuffed bookshelf. A clean design, simple text and a series of drop-down tabs characterize the new site, part of the second phase of the College's website makeover.
The biology, economics and English departments and the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric are among the first departments to implement the new design and technology system. While several pages launched over the week of June 3, the writing institute's site changed to the new format on Thursday afternoon, completing phase two of the process.
The new pages feature improved designs and user interfaces that enable academic departments to better communicate their offerings and "tell the story of who they are," said web services director Susan Lee. To improve user experience, increase uniformity and simplify maintenance, the websites will follow a new standard template. Each department will have control over the choice of images, color palette, header text and content.
Economics department chair Douglas Staiger said that regularly updated content, multi-platform accessibility and a sleek look enhance his department's site.
With featured stories and large pictures, it aims to appeal to external and internal audiences, including prospective students, other institutions' faculty members and potential hires.
"At the first contact, they'll be able to quickly see what's going on in our department, who's there, what research we're doing and what students are doing," Staiger said.
This second phase of the redesign was more complex than the initial push because it focused on restructuring new information, interim strategic projects director Sarah Memmi said.
The Institute for Writing and Rhetoric's site also includes content that aims to tell stories in an engaging manner, said program executive director Karen Gocsik.
Content on the institute's revamped website will not drastically change from its previous iteration, but the larger images included in the redesign will attract more attention to the content, Gocsik said.
"Our earlier sites were text-heavy, and they weren't as inviting," she said. "We've used images, different fonts and different ways of getting people into the site. It pulls them in."
The economics department seeks to promote information on recent news, research and student and department activity, Staiger said.
"The challenge going ahead is to keep it from getting stale, to keep it up to date when new things happen," he said.
Although some content on the economics department website will come from the College, the department plans to employ a part-time student worker to write for it. Other sources, like faculty members, may also contribute.
"We're going to try to encourage faculty, for example, when they're working with a student on a research project or as a presidential scholar, to write up short briefs that we can post in a standardized format," Staiger said.
Gocsik said users will find the organization of the Institute for Writing and Rhetoric's website more intuitive.
Unlike its previous website, the institute now features the RWIT program, which will be anchored in the bar's left corner.
"We're hoping that by having photographs of students being helped, people will click through," Gocsik said.
The second phase of the redesign added new content and structure to the Dartmouth homepage, which launched its new visual design last fall.
It also created a Global Dartmouth website that highlights Dartmouth's international presence and student engagement in international issues. A picture of a man sitting atop a rock cluster headlines the page.
Like the department sites, top stories on the Global Dartmouth website sit below drop-down tabs, but this site highlights upcoming campus events with a global focus.
A new Dartmouth events calendar and an updated campus map that includes mobile access are also featured in the latest launch. The faculty directory of the Arts and Sciences has been migrated to the new design and technology.
Each layout will function across mobile, laptop and desktop devices and is accessible to users with disabilities, according to HomeTeam, the website's blog.
The remaining College websites will migrate to the new layout in the redesign's third phase. These sites will publish as they are produced.
Academic sites will be the first to transfer, and web services hopes to complete the process for most of the 35 departments it supports by the end of the year, Lee said.
The website development process for academic departments can take anywhere between four weeks to two months depending on the amount of content the site holds and the last time it was updated, she said.
Stephanie McFeeters contributed reporting.