Eastern Connecticut State University launched its new website on Nov. 1, featuring new content, a new navigational structure and the latest web technology.

The website’s new home page targets prospective students, helping them answer important questions as they search for the “best fit” in a college: What makes Eastern different? What can they study at Eastern? Where will they live, what can they do on campus, and how much will it cost? What applied learning opportunities exist at Eastern? How well are alumni doing after graduation?

The new site is also based on a “mobile first” strategy, recognizing that 95 percent of “Generation Z” uses a cell phone to research colleges and universities. “Users will enjoy knowing that the menu on our desktop and mobile views is identical,” said Ed Osborn, director of university relations. “The site also has a number of interactive features to fully engage site visitors. Sliders, videos, “rollups,” dropdown menus, “accordions” and other tools empower users to explore and interact with content.”

An “all-in-one” menu includes a site search; constituency pages for prospective students, alumni, current students, and faculty and staff; main categories with dropdown menus for academics, student life, athletics, administration, admissions and other key content areas; and the university’s official social media accounts.

“We are also pleased to share a great deal of content that is new and improved from our previous site,” said Osborn, “including 50 new videos, more than 100 alumni testimonials, updated facts and data points, and an extraordinary virtual reality tour of campus.”

Searchable repositories for majors, scholarships and student clubs provide important information for prospective and current students, while a comprehensive social media portal provides convenient access to Eastern’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms—organized by sponsoring department.

Upwards of 150 people on campus devoted thousands of hours of time to create the new website, convening student focus groups, conducting internal surveys, building out more than 3,000 new webpages, and receiving training on the new content management system. “This was a huge undertaking, with a great deal of support from President Núñez and other members of the administration,” said Osborn. “The result is a website we hope our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends can enjoy.” The new site is available at https://www.easternct.edu.