Next Generation Website Launch by Fox Valley Technical College

Behind the Scenes:

Fox Valley Technical College’s

Next Generation Website Launch

Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC) is based in

Appleton, Wisconsin. For eight straight years,

they’ve been voted best Local College/University by

the Post-Crescent’s annual Best of the Valley

"People’s Choice" awards.

When FVTC’s website

originally launched in

2006, this device had

yet to be invented.

When FVTC’s website

originally launched in

2006, this device had

yet to be invented.

Back then:

The website was not

mobile-friendly.

When FVTC’s website

originally launched in

2006, this device had

yet to be invented.

Back then:

The website was not

mobile-friendly.

85% of pages were

viewed once or less.

When FVTC’s website

originally launched in

2006, this device had

yet to be invented.

Back then:

The website was not

mobile-friendly.

85% of pages were

viewed once or less.

The user experience

was inconsistent.

When FVTC’s website

originally launched in

2006, this device had

yet to be invented.

Back then:

The website was not

mobile-friendly.

85% of pages were

viewed once or less.

The user experience

was inconsistent.

Marketing made minor

content updates on the

site; however, all other

website changes were

implemented by IT, on a

home-grown CMS.

Most students will

access the site via

mobile devices, so make

the new site mobile-

friendly.

Most students will

access the site via

mobile devices, so make

the new site mobile-

friendly.

Focus on content first,

design second. Organize

content by audience

type.

Most students will

access the site via

mobile devices, so make

the new site mobile-

friendly.

Focus on content first,

design second. Organize

content by audience

type.

Empower the Marketing

team to manage site

content.

Most students will

access the site via

mobile devices, so make

the new site mobile-

friendly.

Focus on content first,

design second. Organize

content by audience

type.

Empower the Marketing

team to manage site

content.

Deploy new, interactive

site features.

Most students will

access the site via

mobile devices, so make

the new site mobile-

friendly.

Focus on content first,

design second. Organize

content by audience

type.

Empower the Marketing

team to manage site

content.

Deploy new, interactive

site features.

Select a Web CMS best

aligned to the above goals.

Let’s take a look at

how the FVTC team

planned and

launched their new

website.

The Web

Lead Team

Barb

Cody

Rose

Larry

* - Distinguishing viewers may be

able to spot a preview of the new

site!

Stakeholders review site concepts. The goal

was to nail down content first, then proceed to

design.

Prior to launching the new

site, numerous internal

feedback sessions were held.

Introducing FVTC’s

new site.

Ready…

Set…

Launched: May 2014

Responsive web design is used to make

all sections of the site mobile-friendly.

Implementation

Details

FVTC wanted a .NET-based

CMS. They considered DNN

Evoq Content, SharePoint and

Sitecore.

FVTC wanted a .NET-based

CMS. They considered DNN

Evoq Content, SharePoint and

Sitecore.

They selected DNN Evoq

Content:

FVTC wanted a .NET-based

CMS. They considered DNN

Evoq Content, SharePoint and

Sitecore.

They selected DNN Evoq

Content:

Evoq Content provides quick

“time to use” and “time to

value.”

FVTC wanted a .NET-based

CMS. They considered DNN

Evoq Content, SharePoint and

Sitecore.

They selected DNN Evoq

Content:

Evoq Content provides quick

“time to use” and “time to

value.”

FVTC developers loved that

minimal training was

required for the marketing

team.

FVTC wanted a .NET-based

CMS. They considered DNN

Evoq Content, SharePoint and

Sitecore.

They selected DNN Evoq

Content:

Evoq Content provides quick

“time to use” and “time to

value.”

FVTC developers loved that

minimal training was

required for the marketing

team.

FVTC liked the availability of

third-party modules in the DNN

Store (and little customization

needed to use them).

FVTC wanted a .NET-based

CMS. They considered DNN

Evoq Content, SharePoint and

Sitecore.

They selected DNN Evoq

Content:

Evoq Content provides a

more intuitive user interface

for FVTC’s Marketing Team.

Some of the key features of

Evoq Content that FVTC is

taking advantage of:

Some of the key features of

Evoq Content that FVTC is

taking advantage of:

Webfarms

(for scalability)

This DNN feature balances

traffic across (3) front-end

FVTC web servers.

Some of the key features of

Evoq Content that FVTC is

taking advantage of:

Webfarms

(for scalability)

This DNN feature balances

traffic across (3) front-end

FVTC web servers.

Page Caching (for

performance)

This DNN feature keeps

copies of commonly

requested pages in memory,

which boosts page load time.

Popular features on

FVTC’s website

When news

breaks, it’s

captured in the

NewsCenter.

It’s built with a

DNN Store module

called

EasyDNNnews.

The NewsCenter

provides an area

for rich content

that can also be

fed into other

areas of the site

quite easily.

MyFVTC is a student portal. It’s the one-stop-shop (online) for

students.

FVTC surveyed students to find out what areas of the old website

they accessed the most; then, they curated this collection of

links to match.

RESULTS

Website Metrics:

(During the first six months since launch)

100% increase in mobile visitors.

16% increase in organic traffic

from search engines.

One department received 200%

more inquiries (via the website)

since the new site went live.

Survey Result:

86% of survey respondents rated

the website “quite professional” or

“extremely professional.”

“One of the most

successful cross-

functional projects

in college history.”

-- Dr. Susan May, President, Fox Valley Technical

College