Ferris State University

In 2019, Ferris State University's website was more than four years old—ancient in internet years. As the school incorporated a new brand platform, it became clear that significant updates to the site were needed.

A new, visually appealing homepage was a top priority. Ferris also wanted to create secondary "major landing pages" that would give various departments and divisions the ability to update key information for students. It was also essential that the new site be designed to be mobile responsive, meet all accessibility standards, and be optimized to work within the OmniUpdate (now Modern Campus Omni Web) content management system (CMS).

When it came time to choose a digital marketing company to help with the redesign, one company was by far the most capable of delivering on both Ferris's design and technical needs: Beacon. Starting the project with a robust strategy phase that delivered essential insights for the eventual redesign, Beacon ably met Ferris's needs and delivered a modern, engaging site that shows prospective students how Ferris can help them "move forward."

Outcomes Achieved

• A new homepage was created incorporating fresh branding, video in the impact area, and a design that focuses on delivering essential messaging for prospective students.
• New templates for the home and landing pages were created that thoughtfully incorporated the findings and recommendations discovered during the strategy phase, leading to a site that's more appealing, intuitive, and useful for audiences.
• The Beacon team performed HTML5 and CSS3 development to ensure functionality within the OmniUpdate CMS, and helped Ferris implement all code and designs.
• ADA compliant design and testing ensured accessibility for all users.
• Multiple rounds of testing removed bugs and ensured optimal viewing on six desktop browsers, two tablet platform browsers, and two smartphone platform browsers.

Services: Strategy | Design | Development