You spot her. There, across the room. Your pulse quickens and you make a bee line to go talk to her. You get a number, set a date, and show up at the restaurant. She is so beautiful you can’t believe how lucky you are to be there. And, she is so dull and boring that you wish there would be a natural catastrophe because a city laid to ruin would be more pleasurable than finishing this date.
Point is: what’s on the outside will attract us at first…but it’s what’s on the inside that matters (every heard that before?).

As colleges get more “internet savvy” (can you sense the sarcasm?) I see a lot of sites that are designed brilliantly. Clearly, there is a talented agency who got paid a nice amount of money to make the site look as great as it does. I am instantly wowed. But then, I can’t figure out how to see what programs they offer. I can’t find out how much the college will cost me because the bright yellow callout button is called “Live your life” or something dumb.

After the wow factor, there has to be content and navigation to let the prospect experience your site. A great design is only the beginning. Sure, if you want them to know there is steak for dinner, you have to let them hear the sizzle. But you don’t eat sizzle. It’s the meat of the website that is going to let students leave feeling satisfied.

So, design the experience. Don’t just design for the color, or the background, or the way the photos will rotate on your homepage. Design with usability in mind. It doesn’t matter how cool looking the “apply now” button looks if no one can find it.

Do your inquiries leave your site remembering the HEX color of the gradient in the footer, or do they remember the fact that they had trouble logging in?