Columbia College is First Major Liberal Arts College in Vancouver to Launch Responsive Website
Burnaby, BC (PRWEB) August 07, 2013 -- Burnaby, B.C., August 7, 2013. Smartt Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of a new responsive website for Columbia College, making the College the first major private liberal arts college in Vancouver to adapt to the trend of consumers using smartphones as the primary device for accessing websites, and among the first BC colleges to do so. The new website is part of Columbia College’s ongoing efforts to enhance the quality and timeliness of information to students, prospective students, and parents.
“More than 30% of cellphone owners use smartphones more often than desktop systems to go online,” says Yetla Hernandez, Columbia College’s social media coordinator and website project lead. “For our target audience of young adults, this percentage is even higher. We want to make it easy for students to find us and to find information once they are on our website. Smartt advised going with a responsive website that would be good for our students and good for SEO (search engine optimization).”
Responsive websites support a friendlier mobile interface by adapting to the screen size of the user’s device, delivering an optimal viewing experience that minimizes the need to resize, pan, and scroll. Responsive web design is a technique recommended by design experts and by Google for making websites accessible across a wide range of devices, from smart phones and tablets to laptops and desktop monitors.
The College’s new website has been part of a long-term engagement with Smartt that included brand consultation, website planning and website development. Key requirements for the college were: ease of content management, social media integration, responsive design, improved business workflow, and a bold, modern look. The website’s other new features include:
• Social media integration and blogs to provide students with more opportunities to engage with College news and activities
• An improved content management system that makes it easier for Columbia College to keep content fresh
• A homepage with shortcuts to the most essential information for the three main target audiences
Overall, the new website gives the College strong marketing capabilities and a distinctive online presence.
“We moved into our new campus in May,” says Dr. Trevor Toone, principal of Columbia College. “With new facilities and updated branding, this summer was also the perfect time to upgrade our online presence. We’ve had feedback that the new website does a wonderful job of showing users what to expect from the College and from Vancouver.”
About Columbia College
Established in 1936, Columbia College is Canada’s premiere private liberal arts college. The College provides first and second year university transfer courses, Associate Degrees in Arts and Science, a university preparatory foundations program conforming to British Columbia Ministry of Education guidelines, and excellent intensive English language instruction in the English Language Centre. http://www.columbiacollege.ca
About Smartt
Smartt is a Vancouver-based Consulting Agency with an obsession for measurable results. We help companies increase their revenue by fusing creative thinking with business knowledge and the scientific approach. http://www.smartt.com
Ray Wang, Smartt, http://www.smartt.com, 604-473-9700, [email protected]
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