After eight months of research, analysis, design, testing and feedback, UC Davis' new home site went live last Friday.

For the top 50-plus pages, the university has improved navigation, content and structure, and has brought the pages into compliance with federal disability guidelines. Also, information Web users said they wanted most has been prioritized.

When University Communications surveyed the campus last summer, nearly 5,000 Web users said the top three reasons they visit the home page are for information on departments and professors, jobs, and news about the campus. As a result, the site boasts a new directory of faculty, organized by department, school or college, and a new "Jobs" button at the top that offers information for current and prospective staff, students and faculty.

Also, Web users will find engaging news about the campus as, each week, the home page will tell two to three stories about what makes UC Davis special and will feature the distinctive voices of students, faculty and staff.

On other pages readers will find more news about members of the UC Davis community who are making a difference through learning, discovery and engagement. As an added feature, the site emphasizes visual story telling with slideshows and videos.

Decisions about the site were made by a 17-member Web strategy committee, based on the survey results, a broad study of the best practices of other university Web sites and extensive consultation with campus Web content managers. "We've tried very hard to create a home page that is user friendly," said Lisa Lapin, assistant vice chancellor for Uni-versity Communications. "This effort is a result of intensive research."

Four main pages -- "Future Students," "Business Community," "Academics" and "Sports & Recreation" -- are completely new to the home site. The first two address important users of the campus Web. A much expanded "Academics" page folds in content formerly found in both "Teaching" and "Schools & Colleges." The last page recognizes the importance of athletics to the campus community.

The home site is now fully compliant with federal guidelines on access for people with disabilities. For example, all the pages now expand to fit browser windows, and the fonts can be easily scaled to match viewing preferences. Windows Internet Explorer users can select a new text size from the "View" menu. Mac users can scale their fonts up or down by pressing "command + plus" or "command + minus," respectively.

The pages remaining from the old site offer reorganized information and improved navigation. And a notable addition to the home site is the search form at the top of every page. From this form, the user can search for either Web pages or people on campus.

The quick-links menu that dropped down on the old home page has been replaced by a shorter list that is always visible. Many of the second-level pages have their own quick-links list appropriate to the particular audience or subject area. Those appear in the left column, under the "In this section" menu.

Other new features:

• A "Campus Currents" page that provides information on campus issues, activities, values and vision;
• A section on the home page that highlights upcoming events and links to a reorganized calendar page; and
• An updated "About UC Davis" page with a new video featuring Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef that welcomes newcomers and a slide show highlighting campus strengths.

The site will continue to evolve, Lapin said. For example, an improved online campus map will follow shortly. Also, University Communications is expecting to later this year roll out new Web page templates that can be adapted by departments.