UX Optimization – 5 Steps to Increase Conversions

Competition for students is fierce, especially when other universities offer similar programs. How do you reach them? Through your website.

Yes, I know you’re thinking, “But wait, what about social media and mailers?”

Social media might bring students into your orbit, but where are you sending everyone with your marketing materials? Straight to your website.

Your university’s website can’t be just an online brochure either. It should be a critical recruitment tool and act as the most impactful touchpoint for future students and their families.

If your website doesn’t feel like the place bringing in the most leads, it probably isn’t.

You can unlock your website’s full potential by improving the user experience (UX). When you have a website that’s easy to navigate and understand, you’ll remove the friction points that keep students from taking the following steps.

Let me walk you through 5 actionable steps you can implement to boost your website’s conversion rates.

It takes your website visitors about 0.05 seconds to form an opinion about you, but they’ll spend 6.44 seconds focused on your main navigation.

What does that tell you? If your menu is easy to understand, you’ll drive more visitors to the other pages of your website quickly (and you’re giving them a great first impression in that 0.05 seconds).

Take a look at your main navigation. What terms are you using for your links? Do they make sense to your students, or do they need to think a bit before clicking?

A good navigation bar should be easy to understand in a split second. Use easy terms like “Academics,” “Admissions,” or “Visit” so they know exactly what they’ll get when they click. Depending on the size of your school and website, I also recommend using drop-down menus in the main navigation to reduce the number of clicks a student needs to make to access the desired page.

When the main navigation is easy to understand, you’re reducing the cognitive load it takes to make a decision. The pages and information they want are easily accessible.

No matter what page someone visits on your website, there should be a “what’s next” action for them to take.

Did they get to the bottom of a degree page? Tell them to apply now or schedule a visit.

Are they reading an article about faculty research? Encourage them to subscribe to your blog.

Scrolling through scholarship pages? Offer them contact information for the Financial Aid offices.

Think about what would be the perfect action for someone to take on the bottom of a website page, and then simply ask them to do just that. But those CTAs need to be noticeable.

Take a look at your website now. Are the CTAs even noticeable if you were a student? Make them super obvious. Calls to action can take up a section of your page with a specialized design or can be an alternative button style that contrasts with the regular button styles. Ensure that those buttons have sufficient space to be visible and use action-oriented language, such as “Apply Now,” “Request Information,” or “Schedule a Visit.”

With clear calls to action, you guide your prospective students directly to the next step. You’re cutting out their decision fatigue and making it easy for them to know precisely what they need to do.

When a prospective student comes to your website, they’re seeing how your degree programs stack up against your competitors. Often, students have a basic idea of what they want to study, but 54% have doubts about their majors.

Help your students better understand those majors by providing the most helpful information straight on your degree pages. No one wants to dig through dozens of website pages to get a clear picture of what all is involved in a program.

On every academic program page, ensure that you provide clear links to application requirements, curriculum, faculty profiles, tuition and aid, and even career outcomes.

Yes, you can simply link to other pages that answer these questions, but you can also use some of the information on the program page to give them an idea of what they’ll find when they click through.

For instance, use career statistics on your main program pages to show salary and job prospects, then lead them to more in-depth pages.

When a student is looking through your degree pages, they’re looking for very specific details. Don’t make them dig through the corresponding pages to find their answers. Give them a way to answer their most pressing questions quickly.

No one wants to read a novel when they visit your website. In an age of short attention spans, you have about 54 seconds of attention per page (and that’s those that are interested!).

One of the easiest ways to ensure that your students can get the information they need to make a decision is to make your text and content skimmable. (Yes, just like they skim their textbooks, they’ll skim your website, too.)

Start with your website’s most visited pages. Break up large paragraphs into smaller ones, remove redundancies, and simplify the language.

Then, use bullet points, numbered lists, and bold key information where you can. You can use visual elements, such as photos and icons, to make bulleted lists more visually appealing.

Finally, you’ll want to ensure the headings you use accurately reflect the content they’re about to read and communicate the benefits of your university.

When text is simple and easy to skim, you’re improve your overall readability, especially on mobile devices. Your prospective students aren’t “reading” your website; they’re scanning it to see if you have the information they need. Simple copy helps students convert.

Universities have a downside of feeling like a faceless institution. It can be difficult for students to reach a “real” human who can help them with their research.

While there’s a big push towards AI and human-less interactions, 71% of Gen Z would reach out to customer support via phone.

Make your school feel more approachable by making it easy to find your contact information. Students want those alternatives.

Add your main contact number in the footer of every website page. Have a main contact page that includes your address, phone number(s), and a form for students to fill out.

For universities, I think it’s helpful to add contact pages for the various departments, allowing students to reach the ones they need easily. I recommend adding contact forms for Admissions, Financial Aid, and individual schools within the university, especially if it’s a larger institution.

Your students want to talk to someone real. Having a few options allows them to reach out to the people they need without getting the runaround. Easy contact options also build trust and provide an alternative path for students who might need extra help to obtain information.

You don’t have to overhaul your entire website to see more conversions. These simple UX tweaks can enable you to take small, strategic steps that lead to significant improvements in how students engage with your university online.

When we focus on clarity, ease of use, and quick access to information, you’ll improve your website’s performance for every single student.