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Recently we launched a redesigned Student Disability Services (opens new window) website. The mission of the department "is to ensure a university experience in which individuals with disabilities have equitable access to programs and to empower students to self advocate in order to fulfill their academic goals."

Visuals

The previous website did not meet the university's visual identity standards. Yes, it did have the global header/footer and used the university approved colors, but it did not represent the university. Ironically our department designed the previous website six years ago, so we have no one to blame but ourselves.

The new design gets right to the point and puts critical information on the homepage. This information is the mission, office hours, contact information and news updates. It also uses the university colors in a way that enhance the information and is consistent with our digital identity.

Content

In addition to the visuals of the site, the content received a complete overhaul. The existing pages were re-written and we added a lot of information that was missing. The site now has a two level navigation that gets users to specific information progressively.

Accessibility

Like all of our websites we ensure ADA compliance. With this site though we had to ensure every detail was accessible to everyone. This included the text, functionality, alternate information for images, everything. It was a great opportunity for us to take a detailed look at a single site and how users are actually accessing the information. We gained some insight that we can apply to all of our existing and new sites. The process was an insightful learning experience.

View the new Student Disability Services website at: http://studentdisability.wayne.edu/ (opens new window)