Navigation is key on all websites, but even more important within a university website where there are a vast array of faculties and departments who are all competing for a share of the website traffic. Ensure that the user journey from the university homepage is intuitive in a minimum number of actions to get users to the accommodation content. Having a direct button or link to accommodation from the university homepage could also be beneficial during the key application and booking months and using the data from the monthly analytics could provide a case to support this request.
Once within the accommodation pages ensure routes for current student and prospective students are catered for, highlighting the key points of the recruitment cycle, timeline and overall application journey. It is also useful to signpost specific pages for all your main audiences – undergraduate, postgraduate, international, parents/carers and short-stay opportunities as well as any other information for current students.
The navigation of the website should be intuitive, and the use of menus, buttons and text links all provide the tools to make the navigation as simple as possible. Try to rationalise the content into relevant sections that would make sense from a student perspective covering the research and enquiry stage, application and booking stage as well as information required prior to arrival.
Keeping in regular contact with Marketing, Recruitment, Admissions and International teams is a valuable exercise to ensure that they too are signposting to the correct accommodation links at the appropriate time in the journey. A missed link within an admissions email or recruitment landing page could lead to confusion and a missed opportunity to promote the university-managed accommodation.
A short URL is also a useful tool to request to add to publications, social media posts or on any advertising as a way of directly allowing navigation to the accommodation landing page. Additional short URLs can also be created for any further promotional needs, for Returners or virtual tours for example.