Higher education websites serve as the primary digital entry point for prospective, current, and graduating learners. Modern learners expect a seamless user experience from the moment they begin researching schools, so it is important that your website provides relevant, engaging information.

This article outlines the specific web pages your website should contain to foster a deeply connected campus community.

1. Admissions page

One of the first considerations students make before choosing a school is the admissions requirements. Prospective learners and their families rely on your admissions page to make one of the most significant financial and educational decisions of their lives, so you have to ensure that the page contains key information that they need to know.

Elements you should add to your admissions page include program information and requirements, tuition fees, and enrollment deadlines. Incorporate a main menu and a sticky navigation bar to ensure high-priority resources remain visible as users scroll through dense information.

Streamlining this journey prevents applicant drop-off, eliminates confusion, and significantly increases the likelihood that an admitted applicant will officially enroll. To maximize the effectiveness of this hub, integrate an AI chatbot trained on your institution's specific admission FAQs so students receive immediate answers to their queries.

2. Student portal

Once enrolled, learners need a personalized, secure environment to manage their daily academic responsibilities and access information. A student portal eliminates the frustration of jumping between different screens for different information, allowing students to focus more on their actual coursework and campus engagement.

Student portals should integrate learning management systems, course registration, grade viewing, class schedule viewing, and billing information into a single intuitive interface. Single sign-on capabilities are highly recommended here to ensure seamless transitions between financial accounts and academic records.

To ensure the student portal performs well, regularly solicit user feedback on usability via quick polls embedded directly in the dashboard. Iterating on this interface based on direct student input ensures the technology evolves alongside actual daily habits rather than your administrative team's assumptions.

3. Welcome page

Transitioning to college is often stressful, making clear guidance essential for incoming students to feel secure and prepared. A centralized welcome page acts as a digital safety net, providing anxious first-year learners with exactly what they need to know before setting foot on campus, beyond what they have already learned during orientation.

Your comprehensive welcome page should include information such as:

• Maps and directions
• Onboarding checklists
• Tech prep (LMS, wifi setup, etc)

Through this page, higher ed institutions remove the guesswork from the onboarding process and help students seamlessly engage with the university environment.

Extend the utility of these resources by keeping the page live and up to date well past the first month of classes. Framing it as a first-year survival guide encourages ongoing engagement as new challenges arise during midterm season.

4. Social and campus life page

Extracurricular involvement is a key driver of long-term retention. When learners establish strong social networks and discover passions outside the lecture hall, their overall engagement and satisfaction increase significantly.

Show students communities they can join, such as clubs, Greek organizations, and sports teams. Implement searchable directories with filtering options so they can easily match their specific interests with active campus groups.

Also, give them information about upcoming events, such as welcome parties and student-organized events. Establish calendar systems to ensure that these digital schedules reflect real-time updates and cancellations.

Removing friction from the discovery process ensures that campus programming receives the attendance, visibility, and engagement it deserves while fostering a sense of belonging.

5. Academic resources page

Academic resource pages consolidate tools important to higher ed students, such as the school's digital library, databases like Google Scholar and JSTOR, online courses, and other campus subscriptions that support academic life.

The best higher ed websites prioritize accessibility. Ensure that all students can access academic resources (and all other parts of your website!) by complying with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. This means implementing steps such as incorporating high-contrast color schemes and descriptive alt text for images.

By featuring an accessible academic resources page, new students can familiarize themselves with these core tools before classes begin, setting them up for early academic success.

6. Support services page

Mental health, career counseling, and academic advising are foundational pillars of student wellness, but they are only effective if students can readily access them. A dedicated web page for these services removes the barriers of walk-in appointments and long email threads.

Ensure these support pages feature prominent, accessible crisis resources and after-hours contact information. Clearly separating emergency protocols from standard appointment scheduling provides immediate direction for users in distress while maintaining organized daily operations.

You may also integrate appointment booking with students' existing academic calendars so both students and staff can schedule sessions more effectively.

Bringing it together

Engaging higher ed students through your web pages requires a holistic approach to design, content management, and ongoing accessibility. By prioritizing access to pages that help them navigate campus life more easily, universities establish lasting trust with their academic communities.

If you need additional assistance in designing your web pages, consider working with a higher ed web design consultant. This will ensure that your website is optimized for student engagement, leading to higher admission yield.