Page 1 of 2

Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 4:39 pm
by lawschoolwriter
I am not a lawyer, nor do I have any plans to become one. But I am helping to build a law school website (sorry, can't tell you which one), and I'm trying to make it as useful as humanly possible.

And I'd like to pick your brains.

I've created a super simple 3 question, multiple choice survey. It will take you all of 30 seconds to do. I would be eternally grateful if you would click over and tell me what you think.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YDGYZ2C

It's completely anonymous, ya da ya da ya da.

Thank you so very much!

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 4:45 pm
by bruss
Just did the survey. Don't see how that survey would help you at all.

Ps: I did it on my phone so not sure if your pc will catch a virus.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 4:50 pm
by lawschoolwriter
Thank you. I'm at the very early stages, just trying to prioritize types of content.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 4:56 pm
by Band A Long
Took the survey.

Since you can't mention the school, I would suggest highlighting employment data but in doing so realize that may not be what your employer desires (as they may have crappy employment data). But I will say as a (somewhat-informed) prospective law student I have been completely turned off websites that disguise or otherwise obfuscate employment data. There are simply too many law schools to choose from to spend one's time clicking around a website that is intentionally hiding information. Not sure if that relates to your situation.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:08 pm
by willwilliams1334
Don't understand why you wouldn't do business schools instead; TLS has law covered, there is no such MBA community.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:10 pm
by SunshineMagic
willwilliams1334 wrote:Don't understand why you wouldn't do business schools instead; TLS has law covered, there is no such MBA community.
wall street oasis?

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:13 pm
by Samara
IME, ease of navigation is key. It's surprising how many websites are difficult to navigate or find specific information.

Also, schools have found a lot of success by creating informal content, such as Asha and Dean Z's blog and Johann's Twitter and G+ presence. You have to have a dean with the right personality I guess, but those three have built up a lot of goodwill that way, which translates into students (and TLS posters) who are passionate about their school. This could be a good way for a T1/T2 school to distinguish itself from the pack.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:17 pm
by lawschoolwriter
Band A Long wrote:Took the survey.

Since you can't mention the school, I would suggest highlighting employment data but in doing so realize that may not be what your employer desires (as they may have crappy employment data). But I will say as a (somewhat-informed) prospective law student I have been completely turned off websites that disguise or otherwise obfuscate employment data. There are simply too many law schools to choose from to spend one's time clicking around a website that is intentionally hiding information. Not sure if that relates to your situation.
Thanks. That's good to know, and something I had suspected after doing my research. You guys are awesome!

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:20 pm
by The Rover
willwilliams1334 wrote:Don't understand why you wouldn't do business schools instead; TLS has law covered, there is no such MBA community.
He is designing the website for a specific law school.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:26 pm
by lawschoolwriter
Samara wrote:
Also, schools have found a lot of success by creating informal content, such as Asha and Dean Z's blog and Johann's Twitter and G+ presence. You have to have a dean with the right personality I guess, but those three have built up a lot of goodwill that way, which translates into students (and TLS posters) who are passionate about their school. This could be a good way for a T1/T2 school to distinguish itself from the pack.
I do love social media (as you might have guessed). I'll definitely add that into the "for consideration" pile.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:28 pm
by rinkrat19
I know I would have appreciated more photos and descriptions of the schools' facilities and buildings. Traveling to visit schools is expensive, and it would be nice to get more than just a glimpse of a classroom, the front door, and maybe the moot courtroom.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:39 pm
by Kikero
rinkrat19 wrote:I know I would have appreciated more photos and descriptions of the schools' facilities and buildings. Traveling to visit schools is expensive, and it would be nice to get more than just a glimpse of a classroom, the front door, and maybe the moot courtroom.
Agreed. Something like a virtual tour (even if all still photos and not some sort of fancy flash thing) would be pretty cool imo.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 5:40 pm
by Band A Long
Samara wrote:IME, ease of navigation is key. It's surprising how many websites are difficult to navigate or find specific information.
+1

Another thought: UPenn law has a website with a lot of good and bad. With regards to the employment point I made earlier, it's somewhat straightforward to find: go to law.upenn.edu, click the big ol' careers button in the box on the right, and you're on your way. Yet if you wanted to get there through a non-highlighted/more logical route, you might think, okay... "Admissions" might have a link, somewhere under something called "JD Students," or maybe "About Penn Law" could have a sub-heading on career prospects? It turns out its under "Departments and Services," which isn't ideal but what makes it even worse is this sort of three-tiered navigation system: http://i.imgur.com/x3pCV.png

Two deep navigation on the left, plus weird file-folder looking things?! It's a jungle of links.

I think a big thing that will help you is that individuals looking into law schools are on average pretty clever and don't mind reading a lot of information. A logical structure and multiple paths to get to key pages is ideal, though.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:19 pm
by dowu
:shock: :shock:

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:28 pm
by CanadianWolf
What are the three survey questions ? (Tired of computer viruses.) Could the survey be designed as a poll ?

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:30 pm
by FantasticMrFox
CanadianWolf wrote:What are the three survey questions ? (Tired of computer viruses.) Could the survey be designed as a poll ?
same; only reason why I'm not taking the survey

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:32 pm
by rinkrat19
FantasticMrFox wrote:
CanadianWolf wrote:What are the three survey questions ? (Tired of computer viruses.) Could the survey be designed as a poll ?
same; only reason why I'm not taking the survey
Pretty sure surveymonkey is fine, guys. It's a well-known survey-hosting site.

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:33 pm
by dowu
:shock: :shock:

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:36 pm
by Ludo!
nmop_apisdn wrote:
FantasticMrFox wrote:
CanadianWolf wrote:What are the three survey questions ? (Tired of computer viruses.) Could the survey be designed as a poll ?
same; only reason why I'm not taking the survey
Im on a work computer and took the survey; seemed fine to me.

It wont let me check again, but I think it said:
1) Where do you get your information about law school admissions? (Had 4 choices, then a blank spot for other)
2) What do you consider most important on a law school's website? (Had 4 choices, then a blank spot for other)
3) How well does your computer protect against viruses?

I cant remember the last question...
The second question was what factor was important to you in choosing a law school. (1 choice, employment data, and a bunch of wrong answers)
The last question was asking you to rank what was important to you on a law school website - academic profiles, employment data, success stories, news/events, etc. And you ranked them on a 5 point scale in which the middle point was 'meh'

Stop clicking so much porn you guys

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:37 pm
by dowu
:shock: :shock:

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 6:37 pm
by dowu
:shock: :shock:

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Tue May 08, 2012 11:51 pm
by bruss
maybe make a box where we can explain our answers?

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 9:09 am
by lawschoolwriter
CanadianWolf wrote:What are the three survey questions ? (Tired of computer viruses.) Could the survey be designed as a poll ?
They are:
1. When choosing a law school, what online resources did you use to research?

U.S. News & World Report Rankings

Top Law Schools Profiles

Blogs and Social Media

Law School Websites

Other (please specify)


2. When choosing a law school, what were the most important factors?

Ranking

Class Size

Geographic Location

Practical Learning Opportunities (clinics and externships)

Employment Data
Other (please specify)

3. When viewing a law school website, what content is most valuable to you (on a scale of 1 least to 5 most)?

Student Profiles
Academic Information
Faculty Activities
Employment Data
Alumni Success Stories
News and Events
Other (please specify)

If you guys would rather, I can definitely try to set it up as a poll.

Thank you!

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 11:51 am
by LSAT Blog

Re: Help me build a better law school website, please?

Posted: Wed May 09, 2012 1:01 pm
by ronthebartender
Your first question is going to give you less-than-accurate results. You are asking TLS users if they used TLS when researching law schools. The answers will not reflect the general population.