In 2024, Wellesley College launched a comprehensive, top-of-class website redesign, replacing a decade-old site and moving to a new content management system. The new wellesley.edu prioritizes the needs of prospective students and their families, while also serving as a powerful tool for attracting top faculty and staff. The previous website, a veritable Wellesley encyclopedia for all audiences, was sorted into two parts. Content for current students, faculty, and staff moved to a new intranet. The remaining external-facing content underwent a complete overhaul, including a totally reimagined design concept, a refined information architecture, rewritten content, and a library of vibrant new photos and videos. The redesign reflects Wellesley’s recent major brand refresh and authentically showcases the Wellesley of today. The Wellesley community has praised the new site for its bold clean aesthetic, full functionality across platforms, and consistently up-to-date information. Despite reducing the size of the site by 88%, pageviews are up year-over-year by 20%, indicating the target audience is actively engaging and exploring the content we've prioritized for them.
From the Judges
Wellesley’s web design is beautifully and intentionally done. The branding is consistent, transitions are clear, and information is digestible. They more than achieved their goals in increasing page views and user engagement. With administrative support, Wellesley was able to create a slick, user-friendly website that will serve them well. So many education institution websites today have nearly identical layouts and functionality. Wellesley took their design a step further to stand out from the crowd.
