One of the initial First Nation-controlled post-secondary institutes in Saskatchewan, SIIT has been providing applied skills training for careers in a variety of areas since 1976. Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology promotes traditional ways and contributing to the community, while fostering student success. Their recent relationship with 2 Web Design will improve their communication with their students, staff, and the public at large. 2 Web Design worked with SIIT throughout the entire process, including design, development, and installation, to make sure their new website fully integrated with their existing systems, such as their email, Moodle, and Registration ADS.
Website Design Project
SIIT’s key goals in the web redevelopment project were to redevelop their existing digital footprint while improving their users experience. We focused on visual design, the implementation of staff and student portals, integration with their existing course registration system, a program catalogue, news section, as well a social media strategy. SIIT also wanted an intuitive content management system (CMS) that would be easy for their multiple administrators to utilize.
User-Centric Design and Social Media Strategy
Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technology wanted a visually appealing website so 2 Web Design applied video, images, and text, to showcase their student achievements and to highlight program offerings. We also added a blog to their website that doubles as a news section, which feeds onto their homepage as a Latest News section.
A major feature we installed for SIIT is the program catalogue. The catalogue allows administrators to set multiple sessions for each program, based on time, term, and location. In addition to developing a program catalogue to highlight SIIT’s upcoming program offerings, 2 Web Design also worked directly with the client to ensure seamless integration with their present course registration system.
To further improve SIIT’s communication and relationship with their audience, we worked with them to develop a social media strategy for all channels including Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Google+ as well as helped them set up their HubSpot account.
Powerful and Flexible Custom CMS
One of the major challenges SIIT was facing with their previous website was the limited functionality of their CMS. The team at 2 Web Design had to design a website that provided a positive experience for their key personas on the front end, but also to build a site that was unrestrictive and intuitive in its backend services. Most importantly, SIIT’s custom content management system allows for multiple administrator permissions. This is very useful considering that the website has a sub-site with sub-administrators for their satellite campus Industrial Career Centres.
Smartphone and Tablet Friendly
As (almost) always, we hooked SIIT up with responsive web design to help take their website to the next level. Responsive design, or being “mobile friendly,” is crucial for this educational institution as it allows their current students to access their emails and register for classes all on-the-go, but also allows potential students to check out their possible future school where ever they are and on whichever device they choose!
Please head on over to SIIT‘s new website and let us know what you think in the comment section below!