Web Transformation Updates

The web transformation project will ensure that DU.edu functions as a clear, trustworthy, compelling, and effective front door for the 91¶¶Òõ—particularly for prospective students and their families—while still supporting the broader needs of current students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and community partners well into the future.

Recent Updates

What We Aim to Improve

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Functionality

Supporting recruitment, discovery, brand/identity, and trust, while remaining secure and operationally sound

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Storytelling

Telling a sharper, cohesive, differentiated DU story that showcases our value propositionÌý

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Management

Updating the editor experience, making it easier to guide, support, and evolve over time

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Answering The Four Questions

Based on extensive input, we’re anchoring our work around four fundamental questions that every prospective student asks during their college search.

1. Do you have my program?Ìý

Can I quickly find an academic path that matches my goals and interests?

2. Can I afford it?Ìý

Do I understand the real cost, financial support, and value of attending?

3. Will I get accepted?Ìý

Can I see a clear, attainable path to admission and understand what’s expected?

4. Can I see myself here?Ìý

Does this place feel like it fits who I am and who I aspire to be?Ìý

Affordability and return on investment are top of mind for students who are considering a DU education. This means the website must do more than inform—it must clearly communicate value, outcomes, and opportunity in ways that directly address both perception gaps.

A critical insight from discovery


What We Know

Through strategy, SEO, UX, and ecosystem audits, several consistent themes emerged.Ìý

  • 1. DU.edu remains the primary entry point

    Despite having dozens of subdomains, data shows that du.edu is still the main starting point for discovery, especially for prospective students. Admissions intent consistently follows from the core site, even when journeys eventually move to subdomains.Ìý

  • 2. Our ecosystem is highly fragmented
    • Nearly 100 active subdomains exist across Drupal, WordPress, and external platforms.
    • Academic and program content is spread across many sites and subdomains with inconsistent structure, design, and messaging.
    • We have a big opportunity to strengthen search authority, create consistent experiences, and reinterpret holistic analytics through this transformation project.Ìý
  • 3. Organic search is critical—and changing
    • Organic search drives nearly half of all site sessions, making it DU’s largest discovery channel.
    • With academic and program information spread across multiple domains, the current structure creates self-cannibalization and competition amongst ourselves. When everything competes, nothing wins.
    • There is no formal SEO or AI-search (AEO) governance, causing inconsistent results across the web experience.Ìý
  • 4. Governance gaps have created inconsistencies
    • There is no formal, institution-wide web governance framework.
    • Roles, permissions, workflows, and standards have evolved informally over time.
    • Decisions have been made with good intent, but without governance, those efforts have led to inconsistency and duplicated information.Ìý
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Key Challenges

The challenges are not primarily technical—they are structural and organizational as well.Ìý

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    Competing priorities

    between recruitment, brand reputation, site health, and local unit needs.Ìý

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    Isolated decision-making

    often without full awareness of institutional priorities and goals.Ìý

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    Subdomain sprawl

    resulting in diluted domain authority, confused users, and lower search performance.

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    Inconsistent user experiences

    across colleges and programs, impacting trust and clarity.Ìý

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    Limited shared standards

    for content, UX, SEO, analytics, and personalization.Ìý

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    Fragmented data

    making it difficult to measure performance across the full user journey.

Solutions

The web transformation project will bring clarity, focus, and alignment to our existing digital infrastructure.

Re-centering DU.edu as the “center of gravityâ€

  • DU.edu will serve as the authoritative source for discovery, context, and trust.
  • Subdomains will support specific audiences and use cases but extend the core experience rather than compete with it.Ìý

Establishing shared governance and standards

  • Clear roles and responsibilities for content, navigation, templates, SEO, and the overall experience.
  • Documented standards for UX, accessibility, search, analytics, and component usage.
  • Simplified and standardized roles and permissions to reduce risk and confusion.Ìý

Aligning the website explicitly to support DU’s value proposition

  • Re-establishing the website as the university's primary marketing and recruitment tool, not just an information repository.
  • Prioritizing site health and security as a non-negotiable foundation to enable recruitment.Ìý

Using data to guide continuous improvement

  • Clear measurement of priority conversion pathways and audience journeys.
  • Better use of analytics, testing, and research to inform decisions.
  • Preparation for AI-driven discovery and user personalization as the ecosystem matures.Ìý