Case Study: A Bold Transformation for Point University’s Website
Point University is not afraid to make bold changes—they’ve successfully navigated a name change, and, even more impressively, they moved their entire campus in 2012 when it became clear a location change would benefit the institution. Point is thriving as a result of strategic shifts, and the university needed a new website that reflects the growth.
Building on an existing partnership with 5 Degrees Branding that began more than a decade ago, the university chose 5° to lead the strategy and design process for the new website.
Client goals included:
Updated design
Serving on-campus and online students equally
Clearer messaging of the mission of the University as exceptionally dedicated to making a college education accessible for all, while retaining the brand voice
Here’s How We Did It
1: Discovery
The discovery process—the foundation for decision-making throughout the project—involved competitor analysis, comprehensive focus groups across all university stakeholders, design survey, and content inventory.
After an initial competitor analysis, we conducted focus groups to hear from Point’s marketing and communications team, faculty, staff, current students, and alumni. We did this to discover:
How each stakeholder views and describes Point
What’s working well on the site
What, in their view, needed to be improved
For current students, we went further into their experience of using the website during their college search and what could be improved.
After initial focus groups, we conducted a design survey to inform the visual direction of the project, as well as a content inventory to ensure only relevant information would get migrated to the new site.
Key findings from the discovery process included needs on the new site for:
Simplified content
Enhanced program search
More effective pathways to admissions processes
Clearer messaging on unique-to-Point programs
Enhanced site management tools
2: Strategy
The former point.edu was heavy on content but lacked intentional navigational structure, necessitating an information architecture overhaul to guide user behavior. Top priorities included:
Creating an enrollment-first website while also serving secondary audiences
Current students expressed a desire for more robust information about campus life.
Designing a modern site with clear, intentional behavior paths for the user that answers the most commonly asked questions for prospective on-campus and online students:
“Do you have my program?”
“Can I afford to go here?”
“How do I get in?”
Showcasing on-campus and online programs both distinctly and equally
We created a self-identifier at the top of the homepage to immediately inform prospective students which programs are available in their preferred modality, as well as an academic program finder with filters for degree type, format, and academic area.
The admissions landing page also opens with a self-identifier between on-campus and online students, directing students to the admissions process most relevant to them.
Refreshing content
While holding true to Point’s brand voice, we updated language and introduced first-person content to provide a more personal feel for users.
We developed content to correspond with strategic user behavior paths to showcase Point’s tangible dedication to providing access to college for all students.
One challenge was how to handle Point’s Elevate program. Elevate is a unique-to-Point program that connects working students and employers to provide a no-cost education.
Findings included the following issues:
Addressing multiple audience types
Constituents not being able to find Elevate (previously called subscription) content
Presenting a clear concept of the program
After working with the Point team to refine more descriptive language for Elevate, including a new program name, we created a dedicated section on the homepage that immediately defined the program and provided a path to pages on how to enroll as a student while also including information for employers.
3: Development & Design
Point’s former site served them well for many years, but the highest priority of the project was a visual redesign. After the initial discovery process, it became clear that the overall design priority was for a site that was clean, modern, and streamlined.
The university’s core visual identity (also developed by 5°) – served as the basis for design, which we translated into updated elements for a visually appealing and user-friendly interface.
Updated elements included:
Hero video on homepage
UI animation
Responsive design
Accessibility & ADA compliance
Along with the university’s core brand elements, the new design was created with the purpose of telling the story of Point, a remarkably supportive school for its students in every way imaginable—academically, socially, financially, spiritually.
The Partnership
Launching a new website isn’t like flipping a light switch. After the official launch, the work of maintaining the site begins, and no web redesign is complete without equipping the web team for smooth ongoing maintenance.
“Point University had an outstanding experience working with 5° Degrees on our website redesign. They walked us through the entire process step by step and provided coaching for our team members with no prior experience designing a website. 5° Degrees helped us think through complex navigation and design challenges so that we could simplify the user experience on our site. We’re thrilled with the end result! ”
Equipping the Point team included:
A site editor upgrade from WordPress Classic to WordPress Gutenberg
Introducing advanced functionality to automate processes
Recommending internal governance strategies
We partnered with the university’s existing web developer, Needlestack, to inform training sessions that set up the Point team with training resources and guides to not only help them learn how to efficiently operate WordPress, but also how to train future web contributors.
Digital Support for Real-World Impact
With a new digital presence to complement other bold strategies, Point’s website now reflects their fearless, forward-thinking spirit and, most importantly, their unique dedication to providing an immensely supportive, accessible education for their students.
