Blue Coda redesigned Stetson University College of Law's online image to parallel its success and prestigious reputation. Founded in 1900 as Florida's first law school, Stetson University College of Law ranked No. 1 for trial advocacy, No. 5 for legal writing and was included among the nation's top 100 law schools by U.S. News & World Report at the time the site launched.
The Challenge:
Redefine Stetson's online image by giving the school's Web site a complete makeover, which included a full graphic redesign, re-organization of over 1,000 pages of content and integration of content management tools to enable staff to easily maintain and grow the site. All within a 5-month project timeline.
"Our client's initial expectation was that the project would take at least 8 months to complete. On the contrary, in just five months, we built consensus among all of the school's various constituent groups, implemented every project requirement, and launched the new site on-time and on-budget."
- Jason Schaffer, Technology Lead
Here's how we did it:
Built consensus among the site's many stakeholders
Created a new elegant and powerful design showcasing all of the school's unique attributes - faculty, diverse student body, top tier facilities, and academic rigor.
Integrated an off-the-shelf enterprise content management solution (CMS) to facilitate timely content updating and give the school communications team complete control over the Web site.
Created an interactive media component titled "The Stetson Experience" to provide firsthand glimpse into the school with video, images, and success stories, all of which can be updated through the CMS.
Setup content approval and workflow functionality, to spread responsibility for content management among a wide range of departments and staff, while allowing the communications team to approve/edit/reject specific content changes
Trained school staff on how to use all of the web tools
Results:
The new Stetson Law Web site launched in September of 2008. It received APEX's "2009 Most Improved Web & Intranet Site" award for its excellence in design, content and overall communication abilities. The new site attracts an average of 6,000 unique visits per day (180,000 per month) and has strengthened its user ability and accessibility.
