Mobile Websites
Good Question Does CASE have any recommendations or best practices for developing a mobile website and samples from institutions that have already done so?

Websites Playing Increasing Role in Students’ Choice of College, University
Article A new study of college-bound juniors and seniors finds that 50 percent of surveyed students say the web plays an extremely important or significant role in their evaluation of a campus.

Atrévete a Ser el Primero [Dare to Be First]
CURRENTS Article The University of Delaware launched a website in Spanish in November 2011. This online foray into another language is an important step in the institution's continuing globalization and its goal to develop a more diverse campus community.

Infographics
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of education institutions' infographics and data visualizations used to convey advancement-related data and stories.

Infographics
Good Question Does the InfoCenter have resources that discuss best practices for designing infographics? What about examples of infographics created for advancement purposes?

From Neglected to Connected: Reinventing Your Institution's News Site
Article When Tufts University decided to revamp its news site, it first looked to see what other institutions were doing. It turns out there were very few higher education role models—and a lot of fake storefronts.

Core Communications
CURRENTS Article In this article, three communications professionals from San Diego State University, Hamilton College, and Michigan State University, respectively, describe the processes their campuses went through in redesigning their websites and the issues they had to address, including content management systems, accessibility for people with disabilities, what should be included on the home page and why, and training campus site editors to maintain site consistency as well as ease of use.

Web Designer's Idea Book, Vol. 2: More of the Best Themes, Trends and Styles in Website Design
Product This book looks at websites and groups them thematically according to type, design elements, styles and themes, structural styles and structural elements. Includes a chapter on basic design principles and how they can be applied online.

Advance Work: Word Play
CURRENTS Article Educational institutions should consider adding video captioning to their online multimedia content. Captioning not only helps users who are hard of hearing, but it also increases Web searchability.

Advance Work: Optimize Primer
CURRENTS Article As SEO becomes a larger part of communications and marketing, institutions need to reevaluate their own Web sites.

Office Space: Show Don't Tell
CURRENTS Article In such a crowded digital world, institutions' Web pages need to be the providers of fresh and interesting content.

"Satisfied" Web Site Visitors More Likely to Donate, Volunteer
Article Nonprofits have plenty of room for improvement when it comes to their Web sites.

Complete Institutional Web Sites: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) - Silver Medal
Best Practice As the truest front door to campus, the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Web site is a key means of furthering the institution’s communications goals, including the brand. IUPUI's new site does this in new and engaging ways, while enhancing usability, accessibility, and the level of information available on the site.

Individual Sub-Web Sites: University at Buffalo/SUNY - Bronze Medal
Best Practice The University at Buffalo/SUNY created a Web site to announce and mark a historic three-day campus visit by the 14th Dalai Lama.

Individual Sub-Web Sites: National University - Silver Medal
Best Practice The National University Institute for Wellness and Peak Performance's San Diego 6 site promoted a healthy lifestyle for children. A complement to the San Diego 6 children's TV show, the site offered podcasts, recipes, exercise information, health news and video games. The playful-by-design site featured six students ages 9-12 and a young mentor as they explored various health topics of interest to young people. It stressed the positive values of being outdoors, eating right and exercising.

Complete Institutional Web Sites: McGill University - Silver Medal
Best Practice The redesign of mcgill.ca (launched August 23, 2006) was undertaken with the objective of providing users (students, teachers, staff and the public) with a bilingual site in English and French that is easier to navigate, employs a more pleasing design, allows easier access to more information, and delivers stronger consistent McGill branding.

Individual Sub-Web Sites: University of Colorado at Boulder - Silver Medal
Best Practice In June 2006, the University of Colorado at Boulder Web Communications staff launched a Web site for the Beza Mahafaly Lemur Biology Project. Featuring the work of client and lemur expert Dr. Michelle Sauther, the educational and research site was designed for a wide variety of audiences, from academic researchers to K-12 students.

Complete Institutional Web Sites: Virginia Tech - Bronze Medal
Best Practice In fall 2005, Virginia Tech initiated a Web redevelopment project to coincide with its new "Invent the Future" branding initiative. The offices of University Relations and IT partnered on the project, which was led by a newly established Web Communications group within University Relations.

Nine Tips for Navigating the RFP
Brian Satterfield for TechSoup
Article This article provides general research tips and issues to consider when developing a request for proposal (RFP) for technology vendors.

Web Usability
CURRENTS Article Now that campuses have sophisticated web sites and are using content management systems, are Web sites doing what campuses want them to do? Does the site work? This seeks to answer these questions by examining examines the concept of Web usability. It describes a quick and easy exercise for testing and evaluation and why and how it works. It also looks at the advancement-IT relationship and how communications and marketing professionals can and should be a part of Web usability tests.

AdvanceWork: Black and White and Raspberry All Over
CURRENTS Article Campus designers should consider color trends when looking to update campus logos or create publications. Using a new generation of colors can help communicate to younger students and even help attract enrollees. Hot colors include lime green and retro shades such as pink and turquoise. Designers can tone them down for other audiences.

AdvanceWork: Caging the Cardinal
CURRENTS Article Stanford University constituents seeking information about campus activities need look no further than the Web, thanks to the efforts of several Office of Communications staffers. In May 2003, these campus communicators launched events.stanford.edu, an online events calendar that details campus activities in more than a dozen categories. The site is the winner of a 2004 CASE Circle of Excellence Silver Award.

AdvanceWork: Sorry, Charlie!
CURRENTS Article Web site error messages don't have to be unfriendly and ugly. Savvy Web designers and editors will replace "404: Not Found" with text that helps Web site users find what they're looking for and an appearance that resembles the rest of the site.

AdvanceWork: Drawing Attention
CURRENTS Article An idea of interest to Web and design staff comes from Simon Fraser University, where the external relations office has made its Web site more appealing and personal by including watercolor sketches of each staff member.

Form Follows Function
CURRENTS Article Barnard College found that the best way to approach redesigning its Web site was to divide responsibility for specific functions--PR, academic, administrative--among the various departments that had already established operations in these areas. The article lists different approaches to institutional Web sites, notes users’ expectations, outlines important principles, and describes how Barnard carried out the redesign process.

AdvanceWork: Internet Disconnect
CURRENTS Article The "most wired" colleges don't always have state-of-the-art Web sites

Call in the Experts
CURRENTS Article This article discusses issues associated with alumni organizations hiring outside vendors to design alumni organization Web sites. First, know the total cost of a vendor, including annual maintenance fees and start-up fees. Second, understand that a vendor will bring convenience, expertise, and possible delays to the Web site design process. Third, hire a vendor that recognizes the organization’s need for security and privacy. To conclude, five simple suggestions are offered to those alumni organizations that decide to hire a vendor: assess your needs; consider your options; know what you want; use good business sense; and talk with colleagues. Includes a sampling of online vendors that offer services for alumni.

In Advance: Technology vs. Reality
CURRENTS Article The real deal on eight common misconceptions about hardware and software