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A
site is born: New campus gateway site launches
17
Apr 2000
 It's
been a long time coming (three years but who's counting?) but
finally the wait is over -- early this morning, UC Berkeley's
new web site was born.
The
site was developed not only to aid the people who study, teach,
and work at Berkeley, but also to attract prospective students.
(It's decision time, remember.)
The
new site, which was built entirely in-house by the web team
in Public Affairs, was the result of an extensive research and
development process. As a "gateway" to Berkeley's
web universe, it provides multiple logical pathways to the campus's
600-plus web sites, making information and services more accessible
than ever.
"Like
other contemporary web sites, the new Berkeley site pays attention
first and foremost to its function of conveying information
-- while still retaining good visual design," says Public Affairs
Web Director Andrew Baldock.
For
Baldock, Web Analyst Brad Falconer, Web Editor Paula Murphy,
and Designer Linda Currie, the challenge was to design a site
to serve Berkeley's vast and varied audience -- from campus
students doing course work online to potential applicants on
the other side of the globe. The new site also needed to convey
the Berkeley spirit and build a sense of community -- all while
being accessible to those with visual disabilities, and quickly
downloadable for those with slow computers.
To
help meet these needs, the web team provided on every page: multiple
navigational links, including one to the revamped A-to-Z list
of web sites; a search field; a photo of the campus and its community;
and built-in spots for broadcasting news, campus events, and announcements
or "spotlights." A full text-only version of the site
makes it accessible to all.
"It's
about globalizing -- yet individualizing -- the Cal experience,"
says Murphy. "The home page gives the whole world a common starting
point for exploring Berkeley."
Not
to be forgotten are the all-important prospective students,
who are increasingly judging universities by their web sites.
The site's developers hope that the new design will impress
this audience by showing that Cal is a web-savvy institution
(via the site's functionality) and that it's an exciting place
to study (via the new online tour).
"The
Internet changed the world in less time than it takes to get
a degree," says Falconer. "As much as anything, the
new home page is about proving to students that the campus has
what it takes to stay at the forefront."
###
Read
more about the new gateway site:
Introducing
the all-New www.berkeley.edu: Revamped gateway to world's most-visited
educational Web domain makes its digital debut
(Berkeleyan, 12 Apr 2000)
Striking
at peak moment, UC Berkeley overhauls its Web site, goes after
top students with new recruiting tool
(Press
release, 14 Apr 2000)
Links:
Using
this Site (Helpful tips for using Berkeley's new gateway
site)
UC
Berkeley home
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