Last week we launched a redesign of The President's Commission on the Status of Women (opens new window) website. The redesign took the website into the 21st century.

Information Architecture

The previous website existed on a single page, all the content was separated by headers. This made it hard to scan, print and share important information. We changed this by separating all sections in to individual pages and built a main menu on the left hand side. As a result of this it allows for sub menu pages and a far greater depth of content organized into logical menu items.

Design

As you can see from the previous and new screenshots above we moved the information up, basically completely above "the fold" (for what it is worth). You can also see the global header is now added, a large branding image and promotional buttons to allow for attention calling items. We kept the overall feel of the COSW brand with the new site while still aligning it closer to the university brand. I would call it a realign because the feel is the same but the structure has completely changed.

Utilizing the CMS

This redesign could not have happened without the use of the university CMS. The COSW website is using just some of the features, like the events calendar, news, image galleries and promotions. It also allows for multiple editors to add/edit content from anywhere with a web browser. This ensures content will be updated in a quick and timely mannor, it puts the power in the hands of the content creator, without the need for any technical knowledge.

View the new Commission on the Status of Women website at: http://cosw.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)