Clayton State University
Clayton State had engaging branding but no overarching digital plan. A cohesive strategy led by Stamats helped them become integrated and accessible across platforms.
13%↑
Time on Page
35%↓
Bounce Rate
A senior unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University serves approximately 7,100 students in the Metro Atlanta region. The US News & World Report consistently identifies Clayton State as having the most diverse student body population of baccalaureate-level colleges in the Southern United States.
Though Clayton State’s brand was robust and well-managed, the evolution of its website had been staggered—reacting to various design trends, brand shifts, and changing content priorities.
The result was a site that didn’t cohesively express the Clayton State experience, didn’t fully engage Clayton State’s diverse audiences, and fell short of current accessibility and performance standards.
To help the university reimagine its digital presence, CSU leadership engaged Stamats to improve the site’s overall design and functionality. Our goals included:
- Improve site layout and navigation
- Significantly improve accessibility for persons with disabilities
- Apply a consistent brand voice across the site
- Add emotional impact through bold and contemporary imagery
- Seamlessly integrate social media platforms and Clayton State’s digital magazine, news service, and virtual tour features
- Boost the university’s ranking in organic search results
- Optimize conversion in order to grow Clayton State’s pool of qualified prospective students
Adding a layer of complexity to our work, Clayton State coordinated the site redesign with the launch of a new Undergraduate Admissions website. Together, the two dimensions of the project would impact:
- The top three levels of navigation, including the landing pages of CSU’s four colleges
- 200 pages of content
- 33% of all institutional site traffic
The two-year-long engagement with Clayton State was an exercise in meticulous planning and genuine collaboration. Both CSU and Stamats implicitly understood that our goals went far beyond simply redesigning a website.
Together, we needed to tell the Clayton State University story so compellingly that it would motivate diverse groups of current and prospective students, excite the entire community, and help power the university’s growth for years to come.
Both in purpose and in practice, CSU’s new website now fully reflects the university’s motto, Dreams. Made Real.
In the words of Maritza Ferreira, Clayton State’s Assistance Vice-President of Marketing and Communications, “The launch of Clayton State University’s new website is the culmination of two years of diligent work to develop an engaging and welcoming user experience that we are sure prospective students, their parents, and the campus will appreciate.”
Post-launch site metrics support the new site’s positive impact.
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The Challenge
A senior unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University serves approximately 7,100 students in the Metro Atlanta region. The US News & World Report consistently identifies Clayton State as having the most diverse student body population of baccalaureate-level colleges in the Southern United States.
Though Clayton State’s brand was robust and well-managed, the evolution of its website had been staggered—reacting to various design trends, brand shifts, and changing content priorities.
The result was a site that didn’t cohesively express the Clayton State experience, didn’t fully engage Clayton State’s diverse audiences, and fell short of current accessibility and performance standards.
-
The Project
To help the university reimagine its digital presence, CSU leadership engaged Stamats to improve the site’s overall design and functionality. Our goals included:
- Improve site layout and navigation
- Significantly improve accessibility for persons with disabilities
- Apply a consistent brand voice across the site
- Add emotional impact through bold and contemporary imagery
- Seamlessly integrate social media platforms and Clayton State’s digital magazine, news service, and virtual tour features
- Boost the university’s ranking in organic search results
- Optimize conversion in order to grow Clayton State’s pool of qualified prospective students
Adding a layer of complexity to our work, Clayton State coordinated the site redesign with the launch of a new Undergraduate Admissions website. Together, the two dimensions of the project would impact:
- The top three levels of navigation, including the landing pages of CSU’s four colleges
- 200 pages of content
- 33% of all institutional site traffic
The two-year-long engagement with Clayton State was an exercise in meticulous planning and genuine collaboration. Both CSU and Stamats implicitly understood that our goals went far beyond simply redesigning a website.
Together, we needed to tell the Clayton State University story so compellingly that it would motivate diverse groups of current and prospective students, excite the entire community, and help power the university’s growth for years to come.
-
The Results
Both in purpose and in practice, CSU’s new website now fully reflects the university’s motto, Dreams. Made Real.
In the words of Maritza Ferreira, Clayton State’s Assistance Vice-President of Marketing and Communications, “The launch of Clayton State University’s new website is the culmination of two years of diligent work to develop an engaging and welcoming user experience that we are sure prospective students, their parents, and the campus will appreciate.”
Post-launch site metrics support the new site’s positive impact.
