Redesigned UK website gets mixed reviews from students

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UK’s website introduced a new design Tuesday afternoon, with changes in appearance, navigation and access.

More multimedia elements have been added to the homepage, including a slideshow of photos with information about what UK has to offer.

“This is the front porch of the university,” UK Spokesman Jay Blanton said. “There are several stories that reflect the depth and diversity of the entire institution.”

Although the website was altered the day before classes started, students found the homepage more appealing.

“Visually I think it’s better,” Olivia Lussi, a middle school math and science education junior, said.

In addition to multimedia development, other areas have been modified for smoother browsing, Blanton said.

“The goal is to make navigation and other features easier to access and utilize,” he said.The links on the navigation bar are more spaced out and alphabetized, and the search box is always visible.

Blanton said navigation issues are still being worked out.

“One challenge is you want to make sure people can surf the web but easily get back to the entry point,” he said. “That’s a challenge that is being worked on.”

One navigation change is the specific link blue header at the top of the page. This allows students to access their link blue account more efficiently.

“I really like how link blue is at the top,” said Kyrie Cloud, a merchandise, apparel and textiles sophomore. “It’s easier to navigate.”

Other students said the new layout caused confusion.

“I was used to seeing where everything was,” said Pat McLaughlin. “It took me a while to see the smaller, less visible link blue link.”

Blanton said Provost Kumble Subbaswamy is looking at navigation issues throughout the website and plans to tackle them strategically.

“We are always looking to make it better,” Blanton said.