This week, we're focusing on community colleges—the champions of accessible education, who provide invaluable opportunities to diverse student populations.
Many higher education websites hold untapped potential to attract and engage even more students.
Transforming your community college website is not just about aesthetics; it's about creating a digital gateway that welcomes, informs, and converts prospective students.
With a well-designed, strategic approach, community college websites can transform into powerful recruitment tools—showcasing their unique offerings, fostering engagement, and turning visitors into enrolled students.
So how can community colleges revamp their digital presence to:
- align marketing efforts with admission outcomes
- increase real-time website conversions
- meet KPI goals
- improve online student recruitment results
- and make a lasting impact on prospective students?
Here's a deeper dive into the strategies that can transform community college websites into powerful marketing and engagement tools.
1. Simplify navigation
With the huge amount of information prospective students are exposed to on all digital channels, a simple, clutter-free, intuitive navigation can actually work in your favor.
Streamlining menus and prioritizing frequently accessed pages (like program descriptions and admissions information) helps young students find what they need quickly.
A strong page should be segmented by audience, creating distinct pathways for prospective students, current students, faculty, and alumni.
It should highlight essential tools, such as admissions, academic programs and student resources, and make navigation seamless and informative and FAQs and calls to action clearly visible.
Structured menus and direct calls-to-action prioritize accessibility and engagement, which can create a streamlined experience that meets the needs of prospective students and current users alike.
Salt Lake Community College's homepage, for example, has a simple and effective navigation, which groups content by audience type—prospective students, current students, and faculty—to guide better visitors, making sure that your content is personalized for each of their target audiences.
You could also think of structuring your website by key tasks, such as "Apply Now," "Request Information," and "Explore Programs," ensuring that prospective students can easily find what they need, and guide faculty and current students to sections like "Student Resources" or "Faculty Portal."
This task-focused navigation streamlines the user experience and ensures every visitor quickly finds relevant information.
Calhoun Community College, for example, offers intuitive navigation and a user-friendly design that effectively organizes content by audience and purpose. Visitors can self-identify as a"Future Student," "Current Students," "Parent or Guardian" or "High School counselor", so they can then quickly find relevant information.
2. Focus on mobile-first design
With the majority of users accessing websites via mobile, ensuring a responsive design is non-negotiable.
A mobile-first approach improves usability, reduces bounce rates, and creates a consistent experience across devices.
Mobile optimization also boosts SEO rankings, ensures inclusivity, and improves the user experience for students conducting on-the-go research.
This mobile optimization not only reduces bounce rates but also enhances the overall user experience, catering to students conducting on-the-go research about programs, admissions, or campus life. Clear, touch-friendly navigation and strategically placed CTAs make it easy for users to find the information they need and take action, such as applying or requesting more details.
So test for responsiveness across various devices, and design intuitive touch navigation and clear CTAs.
With its responsive design, Houston Community College's site ensures seamless usability across devices, providing prospective students with a consistent and engaging experience whether they're browsing on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone. This mobile-friendly design aligns with SEO best practices, helping HCC maintain visibility in search results while showcasing its commitment to accessibility and inclusivity for all users.
3. Leverage storytelling and testimonials
We can't stress this one enough.
Students connect with stories, not just stats. Featuring personal narratives from current students and alumni can highlight the transformative power of attending your college.
Some ways to do this are through videos of student testimonials or alumni success stories offer authenticity, blogs, and profiles of students balancing work, family, and school—key demographics for community colleges—for example.
Wake Tech Community College, for example, does a great job using storytelling and testimonials to connect with students.
Through their "Wake Stories" initiative, the college highlights authentic student experiences, alumni successes, and faculty achievements—and encourages students to share their stories.
These narratives are shared via the college's website, social media channels, and video campaigns, painting a compelling picture of the opportunities available at Wake Tech and really humanizing their brand to build trust.
The stories often center on themes like overcoming challenges, career transformation, and personal growth, making them relatable and inspiring to prospective students.
They make good use of video testimonials, in particular, and plenty of authentic student photos both on their website and social channels, providing an engaging medium for prospective students to visualize themselves in similar success stories.
Wake Tech is also highly active on social media channels like YouTube, making full use of video medium to share their stories—and that of students and alumni on social media
4. Highlight unique selling points
Many community colleges excel in affordability, workforce readiness, and transfer opportunities.
However, these benefits must be front and center.
So what sets your college apart?
Whether it's specialized programs, affordability, or flexible schedules, prominently display these benefits on the homepage and throughout the site with clear, concise messaging that reinforces your value proposition.
For example, whether it's on your website, on Bluesky, Instagram, or any other social channel, you can focus on communicating your unique selling proposition (USP), focus on both traditional students and non-traditional learners, showcase your unique pathways to success in clear messaging, and maintain a highly effective digital presence with a consistent brand image.
5. Optimize search
A robust search feature enhances user experience, especially for larger sites.
Ensure it returns relevant, comprehensive results and includes filters for refining searches by program, course type, or schedule.
A good search experience is one that:
- Reduces friction for visitors
- Is fast, intuitive, and highly relevant
- Provides autocomplete suggestions in real-time as visitors type, helping them find what they're looking for quickly, even if they're unsure of the exact terms
- Has filters to help narrow down the search, making it easier to find specific information.
- Offers personalization, such as prioritizing results based on user behavior, ensures that the content is tailored to the individual's needs.
Above all, though, the search function should be accessible across all devices, offering a seamless experience that saves time and leads to the most relevant content.
6. Improve accessibility
Accessible sites not only expand your reach but also reflect your institution's commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Adhering to WCAG standards ensures your website is inclusive for all users, including those with disabilities.
An accessible website not only improves the user experience for all students but also signals the college's commitment to diversity and inclusion.
This can help attract a broader, more diverse student base, reduce frustration, and make it easier for prospective students to apply, ultimately improving recruitment and conversion rates.
You can read up on our many accessibility articles, and make sure to include:
- alt text for images
- captioning for videos
- ARIA landmarks for navigation
- High-contrast color schemes
- Adjustable font sizes
- And test screen reader compatibility to ensure visually impaired users can navigate effectively!
Virginia Community College System features several pop-up accessibility tools (text resizing, color contrast, etc.) on their site designed to enhance user experience for individuals with different needs.
7. Invest in analytics and testing
Data analytics can transform how a college website serves its audience, identifying pain points and areas for improvement.
Using tools like Google Analytics to track bounce rates, page views, and session durations, or conducting A/B testing for CTA buttons and landing page layouts, and monitoring trends like the most-visited pages can help you maximize conversions.
This data lets you make informed decisions on where to optimize their content or processes, such as improving application flows or enhancing key landing pages.
8. Integrate chatbots and live support
Chatbots offer immediate answers to common questions, enhancing user satisfaction.
Many prospective students visit community college websites with urgent questions, like program start dates or financial aid eligibility.
For more complex queries, live support options connect users with staff in real-time, fostering a personalized experience.
It really helps also to have humans available to offer consistent, empathetic communication.
Athens State University, for example, leverages AI and chatbots to enhance accessibility and student support.
These tools provide 24/7 assistance, answering frequently asked questions about admissions, financial aid, and programs.
By automating routine inquiries, staff can focus on personalized student engagement, improving overall efficiency and satisfaction.
This harnesses technology for economic mobility and educational access, ensuring students receive timely support and guidance.
What strategies have you implemented to enhance your college's digital presence? Let us know in the comments!