A digital upgrade driven by strategy, culture, and tech

The University of Waikato is a prestigious New Zealand institution known for its commitment to innovation, research excellence, and community engagement. With campuses in Hamilton and Tauranga, the university offers a diverse range of over 100 subjects and flexible degree structures, catering to students from around the globe.

The University of Waikato’s website plays a vital role in informing and engaging students, staff, and the broader research community. As a central hub for academic information, research initiatives, and university services, it requires constant optimisation to meet evolving user needs and expectations.

To future-proof its digital presence and better reflect its brand, the University partnered with Silverstripe to reimagine the site through a user-first, scalable, and culturally authentic lens. 

The project was designed to address several key goals:

• Enhance user experience and modernise visual design to strengthen engagement and deliver a compelling digital brand experience.
  
  
• Reduce content duplication to improve overall content quality and enable more effective content management.
  
  
• Optimise SEO and content visibility to increase discoverability and drive prospective student engagement.
  
  
• Improve accessibility and inclusivity to ensure the website is usable and accessible for all users, including those with disabilities.
  
  
• Ensure meaningful cultural representation by implementing Māori brand patterns and maintaining cultural authenticity throughout the site.

Beyond discovery, the project involved a complete rebuild of the University’s website, including customisation of the Silverstripe CMS to deliver a fully immersive and responsive experience for end users and content authors. The wider scope included:

• Multiple system integrations to ensure seamless functionality and data flow.
  
  
• End-to-end project delivery and management, from initial strategy through to final implementation.
  
  
• Cloud hosting, providing a scalable and secure infrastructure.
  
  
• Search and security enhancements to improve usability and protect data.
  
  
• Ongoing support services post go-live, ensuring the site continues to meet evolving needs.

This comprehensive approach ensured that the University of Waikato's new website not only reflects its brand and values but also delivers a robust, user-centred digital experience.

The redevelopment of the University of Waikato website has delivered a modern, user-centric platform that better supports students, staff, content authors, and stakeholders. Key UX and design outcomes of this project include:

• Improved mobile experience: A fully responsive design that allows users to seamlessly access information on any device.
  
  
• Improved access to essential tools: Quick links to commonly used platforms like MyWaikato and Moodle, alongside a new ‘Student Life’ section that places important student resources just one click away from the homepage.
  
  
• Refined Information Architecture (IA): The University and Silverstripe worked closely to reimagine the site’s information architecture. A comprehensive review uncovered areas of confusion in the previous structure, highlighting the need for a more intuitive and user-focused approach. Rather than replicating existing layouts, the team rebuilt the menu based on user interests, ensuring that critical information is easy to find and that navigation flows smoothly.
  
  
• Modern visual design: A refreshed design that strengthens the University of Waikato’s visual identity and showcases its brand.
  
  
• Accessibility and inclusivity: Built to WCAG 2.1 standards, the website ensures all users, including those with disabilities, can navigate and engage with content easily.
  
  
• Meaningful cultural representation: Māori brand patterns—designed by Taputapu—and culturally authentic content were embedded throughout the site, reflecting the University's values and identity.

The project also led to significant technical outcomes, including:

• Faster response times: Optimised site performance enables students to quickly find and access key resources.
  
  
• Seamless system integrations: Successful integration with key University systems ensures smooth functionality, consistent data flow, and an improved user experience.
  
  
• Enhanced personalisation capabilities: The platform enables future development of tailored content, such as location-based experiences for international audiences.
  
  
• Robust security and ongoing support: The site is hosted on a secure cloud infrastructure, with ongoing Silverstripe Managed Services and professional support to ensure long-term stability and continuous improvements.

The new website has already contributed to measurable improvements, including:

• Increased website visitors and engagement, with higher traffic to key pages, improved engagement rates, and more interactions with important events and content.
  
  
• Improved SEO visibility, including higher organic search rankings and increased click-through rates: supported by both the new platform and ongoing SEO optimisation efforts.
  
  
• Growth in student enquiries and applications, reflecting stronger prospective student engagement.
  
  
• Increase in student numbers: While the rise in enrolments can be attributed to several factors, the new website has played a supporting role. Notably, there has been an increase in website traffic and more clicks on the "Apply Now" button, even though applications are processed through a separate system.
  
  
• Positive user feedback: Prospective students, staff, and stakeholders have shared favourable feedback on the site's improved navigation, accessibility, and design.
  
  
• Stronger digital analytics integration, enabling more robust data collection, reporting, and continuous site optimisation: a combination of new technology and a focus on analytics improvement.