Case Study

Reimagining Student Onboarding: A Strategic Redesign of the University Admissions Experience

A targeted redesign that reduced user friction, eliminated low-value support requests, and allowed the Admissions team to prioritize real student needs.

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Overview

An outdated onboarding webpage at the University generated excessive support inquiries to the Admissions team. These inquiries were time-consuming but straightforward, preventing the team from focusing on more complex and critical admissions work.

The objective was to overhaul the page to reduce user friction, enhance satisfaction, and allow staff to operate more efficiently. The project also served as a testbed for new content blocks I was developing, with the long-term goal of integrating them into the University's broader web ecosystem.

Role & Responsibilities

As the technical project lead and full-stack web developer, I served in the following capacities:

Technical Project Manager: Oversaw scope, timelines, communication, and team coordination.
Full-Stack WordPress Developer: Built the webpage on a custom WordPress theme I had previously refactored and managed for the University.
UI/UX Designer: Crafted a streamlined, responsive layout that guided users through a clear, linear journey.
Content Consultant: Collaborated with the Admissions team to refine and optimize messaging for clarity and usability.

This project required a blend of technical depth, design fluency, and persistent stakeholder management—approached with the resilience and boldness reminiscent of the South African honey badger.

Discovery & Strategy

User data and support logs revealed that most inquiries stemmed from difficulty locating information, not from a lack of information. I used that insight to frame an initial layout and design strategy, which I presented during the first project meeting.

That framework guided the Admissions team as they gathered content. As content was delivered, I provided ongoing feedback and support, ensuring consistency, structure, and alignment with technical constraints.

UX/UI Execution

The new page was built around a linear, scroll-based layout, which introduced users to information in a logical, step-by-step manner. The design emphasized readability, clarity, and mobile responsiveness.

A major UX challenge came from the volume and verbosity of the submitted content. The challenge wasn't just designing a user-friendly experience but balancing my focus on lean design with the Admissions team's detailed content requirements. While I prefer to minimize bloat and feature creep, I found a way to accommodate their extensive content without sacrificing the integrity of the design, showing my ability to adapt to the constraints of the organization.

My team worked closely with the Admissions team to streamline the copy, cut redundancy, and preserve meaning while ensuring the design held up across all screen sizes.

Technical Implementation

The page was developed using WordPress with the ACF plugin and built on a custom theme I had previously refactored and managed for the University. It also functioned as a pilot project for new custom content blocks designed with scalability in mind for future reuse across other University departments.

As the sole web developer, I led all aspects of implementation:

Front-end and back-end architecture
Responsive behavior and accessibility optimization
Custom block integration
Analytics setup using Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity

After content integration, I conducted a full refactor of the codebase and layout to address new behavior challenges on different devices and screen sizes—reinforcing a results-driven mindset and fearless approach to problem-solving.

Project Workflow & Collaboration

I collaborated closely with a primary contact in the Admissions team, who managed internal content gathering and feedback. We held weekly syncs and operated on an agile, iterative model, with continuous changes and refinements throughout the build.

I designed and built the new webpage, collaborating closely with the Admissions team. While we had differing views on structure and content, I adapted to the evolving requirements, ensuring that the final solution was functional, user-centered, and met the University's specific needs and constraints.

Approximately 150 combined hours were spent on the project—about 60–70 hours from my team (primarily my work), and 80 hours from the Admissions team.

Results & Impact

Support inquiries to the Admissions team dropped to nearly zero post-launch. The team was freed from repetitive support tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value admissions work. The webpage improved the University's perceived digital professionalism and enhanced the onboarding experience for new students.

Despite the evolving nature of the project and the complex organizational environment, the final design resulted in minimal user inquiries, demonstrating my ability to build a lean, efficient system that solved the problem without introducing unnecessary complexity.

We relied on a "no news is good news" feedback model. Users' silence indicated the redesign's success: They had what they needed and didn't need to ask for more.

Sustainability & Future Vision

The custom block system piloted on this page was being considered for broader adoption across more areas of the University's web infrastructure.
Stakeholder training in content strategy could help streamline future updates and reduce friction when adapting layouts or messaging.
Since the launch, only minor updates to the verbiage were required—mainly to reflect evolving student criteria—while the design and information architecture have remained unchanged, validating their long-term effectiveness and strategic resilience.

Conclusion:

This project reinforced that even a single page, designed with intention and technical precision, can significantly improve operational efficiency and user satisfaction. One of my biggest takeaways was navigating the inherent challenges of working in a large, often bureaucratic institution like the University. While my lean, custom approach was sometimes at odds with the environment's tendency towards feature creep, I remained committed to delivering a user-centered solution that aligned with the project's larger goals.

This reinforced my ability to balance craftsmanship with adaptability, ensuring that the final product was functional and within the necessary constraints. It also demonstrated the value of tenacity, full-stack leadership, and bold decision-making—a fearless, problem-solving approach that brought lasting value to both users and the University.

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