Stanford offers a preview of the redesign of its main website

A preview is now available of the newly redesigned Stanford.EDU website scheduled to launch on June 24.

In advance of the launch of a redesign of its main website, Stanford University is offering a sneak peek at the new look. The preview site is at www-beta.stanford.edu.

The new site is scheduled to launch June 24.

“Our goal for the redesign of stanford.edu was to create a modern and engaging platform to provide information about Stanford to the public,” said Scott Stocker, senior director for web communications. “The new website provides many more opportunities to share stories about Stanford research, teaching, campus life and our diverse community, and we want it to reflect Stanford’s place as a global leader in teaching, research, innovation and service.

“We also introduced new design features, such as a longer, scrollable homepage, to make the website more inviting to use on mobile devices,” he said.

The homepage redesign is a project of the Office of University Communications, which has partnered with University IT to host the site. It also worked with the San Francisco firm MULE on visual design and content strategy for the site.

The design team conducted focus groups and interview sessions with faculty, staff and students and others who regularly visit the Stanford website.

“The homepage serves as Stanford’s digital front door to more than 7 million unique visitors each year, the vast majority of them from around the world. It is also the first place prospective students, faculty and employees go to learn about Stanford,” said Lisa Lapin, vice president for university communications. “The homepage is intended to virtually welcome a global public to our campus, while also supporting the internal content navigation needs of the campus community. Community feedback on the redesigned site we all use every day is important to us.”

The preview site includes a blue “feedback” tab on the right side of the homepage through which visitors can make comments.

University Communications will use the feedback gathered during the preview period to fine-tune the site before the launch next month.