From the Nominator

As part of its new communications strategy, McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences underwent a transformational shift in its digital presence. The Faculty of Health Sciences aimed to produce digital content that is a positive, sought-out source of truth in health education, research, and patient care. The cornerstone of this digital evolution was a new faculty website that served as a gateway to Health Sciences. The website was designed to serve diverse users, reaching key target audiences. The site was also designed to be a hub that links to 118 faculty-related websites for departments, schools, programs, and research institutes. These other sites were built in tandem with the central site, under the supervision of the same team. The faculty website was designed to be mobile-first, highlight education and key news, and put DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) and Indigenous reconciliation at the forefront. Prospective students were identified as top site visitors. A user journey was built for them, based on analytics and surveys, and through focus groups. An analysis of peer institutions for best practices was also conducted. Results speak to the success of the new site: a 98.1% year-over-year increase in traffic to the faculty’s education hub; 3,000+ leads; a 25.8% increase in undergraduate international applications in the fourth quarter of 2023; a 78.1% increase in page views; a 18% increase in average session time; and 60% mobile traffic, up from 40% in 2022.

From the Judges

McMaster used stakeholder surveys and user data to inform their strategy and methodology, resulting in a very strong, solid entry. The new site is clean, bright, engaging, and easy to navigate, prioritizing the audience by focusing on education and admissions. Excellent results/metrics, and full marks for web accessibility features, which are not always considered. A great example for other post-secondaries.