Website.

Chicago Theological Seminary main website redesign.

As a premiere, progressive, forward-thinking graduate school of theology in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) needed a website that matched its boldness, and reputation as the one of the leading seminaries in the country. At a time where the seminary was experiencing dramatic growth in population, its aging website and the challenges of a changing digital landscape made it difficult for the seminary to keep up with its more tech-savvy audiences.

CTS was eager to create to re-imagine its website through a sharper, more responsive, and accessible website to capture the attention of students and prospective students, and establish loyalty among staff, faculty, alumni, trustees, donors, friends, and prospects. Partnering with 31 Lengths, a marketing agency based in New York City, we created a project scope and goals, and researched other seminary websites in the U.S. to determine trends and overall design. Internally, I engaged with various departments to determine usability and information needs, and to establish and execute a migration plan for existing content and determining which content would be more suitable for myCTS, the seminary’s internal intranet. The CTS Office of Communications (myself & the director) then developed and executed a communications strategy to launch the refreshed website, as well as a micro-targeted campaign, using social media, email marketing, and word of mouth for new and lapsed visitors.

Deliverables:

• Project Management

• Public outreach strategy

• Stakeholder engagement

• Site content

• Website development/management

• Intranet conception/implementation

• Email marketing

• Social media campaign

• Communications strategy

Outcome:

The website redesign launch was very anticipated and exceeded expectations among all audiences, including perspective students, and doubled visits to the CTS website, while placing a much-needed focus on high-stakes information. The redesigned website included the refreshed CTS brand, a responsive design that meets user needs on any desktop display, mobile device, laptop, or tablet, and improved ADA functionality.

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