Changes to concordia.ca

Top-level navigational menu items
While the previous site had six differing home pages that catered to as many audiences, the new site has a single home page that acts as a gateway to other Concordia websites, as well as internal pages that are filled with content that fall under these top-level, navigational menu categories:

• Programs & courses: caters to both prospective and current students who have to review programs and courses before applying.
• Admissions: for prospective students who would like to learn more about the application process
•  Campus life: A snapshot of the vibrant and dynamic activities that reflect life on both the Loyola and Sir George Williams campuses for current and prospective students, as well as faculty and staff
•  Research: A focus on our research initiatives and strategies for prospective and current students, as well as faculty members
• Services: A list of on-campus services for prospective and current students, as well as faculty and staff members
• About: Information about Concordia—including its history, fast facts, administration and governance, its strategic framework and major projects—that appeals to members of the internal community and the general public.    
• NOW news & events: Is fully integrated into Concordia.ca as a news & events section. The latest NOW news & events headlines also appear on the homepage and automatic news feeds in the right-hand column of the site in related topics, such as campus life, research, arts & culture, about, etc. We drive traffic to NOW via weekly e-newsletters to faculty and staff members, the media, members of the general public who subscribed to receive the newsletter and, on a monthly basis, to all students.

Main visual banners and vignettes
The homepage is also highly dynamic, starting with the sliding “main visual banners” at the very top of the page that promote our various programs, courses, services, resources, events, news and so on. Directly below the main visual banners are “vignettes,” which are thumbnails of the main visual banners. Clicking on any one of these vignettes will make the corresponding main visual banner will appear. The arrows on either side of the vignettes lead to four other vignettes for a total of eight at any given time.

Single-click calls to action
Below the vignette on the left-hand side of the homepage are the one-click calls to actions for users who know what they want to accomplish without having to navigate or search:

• View Programs
• Apply
• Visit
• Give

Recruitment box
In response to recruitment needs, we have made our undergraduate and graduate recruitment activities much more prominent by including related news, events, activities, tools, multimedia and social media in the shaded blue box directly below the vignettes.

Featured
This area is reserved for the promotion of news, events, programs, courses, services and activities that have a longer shelf life than the main visual banners, which are updated at least weekly. 

NOW news & events headlines
The headlines that appear in the bottom, right-hand corner of the homepage, are generated by the latest news and events that also appear in the NOW news & events section.

Social media
Besides launching the Concordia Foursquare and iTunes U accounts, it will be much easier to follow Concordia across all its social media offerings, which we’ve described and consolidated on www.concordia.ca/social.

Mobile and Apps
Many experts predict that by 2015, mobile web will be larger that desktop and internet use and recent studies show that more and more Canadians are using smartphones and other mobile devices to stay informed on the go.

We’re working on a building a mobile version of the Concordia.ca site and implementing a long-term mobile strategy so we can become a destination that can be accessed on any platform. 

We will also make available mobile apps, starting with the shuttle bus app, which we will unveil later in March. 

Nifty self-service tools
Check out the new tuition fee calculator and campus maps.