Strath.ac.uk - One site or many?

With so many departments, faculties, schools and research groups online, can strath.ac.uk really be thought of as one site? Is it realistic to create a consistent user experience across the whole thing with a single navigational approach? In this session we explore these questions and look at what other large organisations do.

1. strath.ac.uk One site or many?
2. MEGA SITE
3. ★ Extremely large ★ Many levels deep ★ Made up of microsites & subsections ★ Cater to many audiences ★ Have multiple entry points MEGA SITE
4. Two approaches
5. Separation
6. Unification
7. Why mega sites often divide
8. Why mega sites often divide Wide offerings Large, diverse, user groups Siloed business units Complex organisational structures Internal politics
9. Pros for a single site Cons for a single site Pros for a multi site Cons for a multi site Pros and cons exercise
10. HOW TO DECIDE ★ Market positioning ★ Users mental model
12. Challenges of mega sites
13. Dealing with visual identity
14. Creating a consistent user experience
15. Dealing with complexity of navigation OUCH!
16. I am a prospective student from Mexico I want to speak to a representative in my country So I can decided if I wish to study at the University of Strathclyde.
17. Studying > Prospective students > International students > Information for international students > Mexico > Overseas representatives > Anglo Latino Education Partnership
18. ★ Users only be interested in section ★ Deep linking into the site ★ Redundant pages only used to navigate ★ No space left for content! CHALLENGES!
20. ★ Users only be interested in section ★ Deep linking into the site ★ Redundant pages only used to navigate ★ No space left for content! CHALLENGES! ★ Replication of labelling
22. Solutions to the navigation problem 4
23. Remove the navigation
24. Advantages Limitless size Great for deep linking More flexible Disadvantages Will users get it? Will content managers get it? Reliant on good tagging and curation
25. Splitting into sub sites
26. Advantages Easier internal management Stronger sub branding Obvious where the user is Disadvantages Challenges of adjusting to each site Undermines overall brand Makes moving between sub sites hard
27. Breadcrumb based navigation
28. Advantages Minimal real estate dedicated to navigation Clear and simple choices Focused on current level and children Disadvantages Lots of movement up and down tree Little sense of the structure of the site Impossible to skip between sections
29. Vertical breadcrumbs hybrid
30. Advantages Less real estate than traditional navigation Provides context and the ability to skip around Focused on current level and children Disadvantages Challenge for mobile devices Can’t see context at a glance Not many existing implementations
31. ★ No perfect solution. ★ Depends on organisational perception. ★ Depends on how users perceive things. ★ A big challenge made worse by politics. CONCLUSIONS