Temple Study Abroad: A New Appreciation for the Web

Redesigning any website is hard work, but when said website involves more extra options than a Domino’s Pizza order for an entire daycare center, things get hairy pretty quickly.

Yes, I’ve been working my proverbial tail off all year in order to help Temple’s own Study Abroad department redesign their website from the ground up.  And let me tell you, crafting a website that feels intuitive and natural is seriously hard work.  I’ve spent my months doing everything from creating short, documentary-style films to writing copy for overseas programs, and I’m not sure that most outsiders truly realize the amount of effort that goes into making a website that merely does not get in your way every day.

Our office has been working with a web developer hand-in-hand to build the most advanced and forward-thinking website possible with today’s technology.  While I have spent my days writing and revising web copy left and right, the rest of our team has been spending each waking hour debating word choice, button placement, sorting options, and a massive array of other issues in order to create a web experience that merely feels natural and normal.  It’s been a long, painstaking process that has included multiple site builds and drafts, but we’ve learned a ton, and are committed to creating the most helpful and useful study abroad website on the planet.  And we are so close to being there.

Working with Temple Study Abroad has shown me just how much human effort and care is still needed to keep the web running smoothly.  It’s nice knowing that no matter what website I find myself on, there’s still someone behind a screen making sure my experience is going well.