Website Design for
Higher Education
Specializing in a Personalized
Approach at an Afforadble Cost
Areas of expertise include small to medium sized colleges & universities, bible colleges, liberal arts colleges and theological seminaries
As a higher education institution, are you struggling with…
An Unorganized Website
Your website is a mess with too many pages and you know you need help. You need a proven design process that will deliver a quality site that appeals to everyone, from prospective students to faculty to alumni.
An Outdated College Website
Your site, while once beautiful, now looks like a relic from the 90’s. Your tech-savvy prospective students are turned off by your outdated look and irrelevant content, and you don’t have the in-house skills to tackle a quality website redesign.
Unclear Messaging
Prospective students are overwhelmed by confusing content. They aren’t sure which pages to visit, how to inquire or apply, or if your school is a good fit for them. Current students have trouble finding the information they need.
As an institute of higher education, you need a modern, engaging website that attracts students, inspires trust, and shows a clear path from prospect to student.
Let us design a higher education website with a built-in admissions funnel.
Your website can do more than engage prospective students. With the right content strategy, your site can:
Engage prospective students by providing them with the content they demand in an easy to navigate platform
Build trust between your institution and prospective students
Show prospective students what sets you apart from other institutions
Streamline internal collateral like academic calendars, course catalogs, alumni publications, and on-campus events
Reduce bounce rate percentages and increase time spent on impactful webpages
Meet The Team
April Ray, MBA
Higher Education Web Designer + Marketing Strategist
Hi. My name is April Ray, founder and CEO of April Ray Creative.
I’ve been working in higher-ed marketing and web design with colleges and universities since 2008.
I started at Murray State University where I spearheaded market research and a full redesign of the graduate program’s recruitment pages. Next, I worked for Kentucky Wesleyan College as the Director of Marketing and Communications and webmaster for the college. I was in charge of their entire website redesign in 2015.
In 2017, my daughter was born and I decided to start April Ray Creative to provide more balance and flexibility while my children were young. I quickly picked up steam and have designed websites for many industries, but my passion remains with higher education.
Now, I combine my years of higher education, web design, and business savvy to deliver a top-notch web design experience to small colleges like yours. Just like your students are not “just a number,” I treat you with the same one-on-one attention that you just can’t get with a bigger agency.
Kelly Burchett
Content Writer
Kelly is a full-time copywriter based in Oklahoma City. She specializes in helping colleges and businesses find the right language to bring their vision to life.
Michelle Bourbonniere, Ph.D
SEO Expert
Michelle uses pro-level SEO tools to provide plain-language SEO advice to universities, including SEO audits, keyword research, content planning, and copy optimization.
Jeremy Pittman, MBA
CEO of Premier Enrollment Solutions
Jeremy specializes in assisting small to medium sized private universities achieve their enrollment and marketing goals through process review, enrollment and marketing strategies, financial aid leveraging, and temporary staffing solutions.
The Process
1. SEO Audit
We’ll start with an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) audit of your current site. This data shows us which of your current pages are most valuable. What keywords are driving traffic to your site? What’s your most visited pages? How can we improve?
Market research
Next, we’ll perform market research with your current students to find out what inspired them to apply for and enroll at your institution.
3. OPTIMIZATION AND REORGANIZATION
From your SEO audit and market research, we’ll identify which pages require rewriting and optimization to attract students and drive them to apply.
4. Design
You’ll complete an in-depth design and brand questionnaire that will help us understand your goals. We love integrating a college’s traditional aesthetic with a modern, engaging look.
Once we have your preferences, we’ll begin designing! We’ll send you a sample of your homepage and an interior page for feedback before we finalize the remaining pages.
5. ONGOING WEBSITE MAINTENANCE
After your new site has launched, you become a VIP on our website care plans. We’ll keep your site running smoothly with updates, backups, security, and performance checks. You’ll also get an hour of additional website maintenance per month, and a discounted hourly price when you need more.
Testimonials
Hear from others on how we’ve helped them upgrade their online presence!
April was the project lead on a redesign of the Kentucky Wesleyan College website. She did a wonderful job of coordinating all aspects of the project, including the consolidation of numerous pages and content from the old site, and created a wonderful site that is effective in its outreach to prospective students, alumni and friends of the College. She comes highly recommended from Kentucky Wesleyan College!
April and I worked together closely when I was the Vice President of Advancement at Kentucky Wesleyan College from 2015-2018. She was an integral part of leading our digital engagement efforts when it came to recruiting students, engaging alumni, and helping to drive additional philanthropic dollars.
April took the lead on helping the College set up a cutting-edge virtual platform that allowed prospective students to tour campus without having to leave their home, which paid immediate dividends in the form of significant increases in applications, visits, and enrollment. She also worked tirelessly to enhance our digital marketing presence through regular student spotlights, donor & alumni features, and special event showcasing – embedding these material on the institution’s website, sharing them through social media platforms, and utilizing them as part of a comprehensive marketing plan that resulted in higher enrollment and the highest year-over-year fundraising efforts in the history of the College.
April is knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and will work tirelessly and collaboratively to ensure the success of her clients.
I have worked in higher education admissions and enrollment management at multiple campuses for 20 years and have worked with some fantastic staff during over the years. At one of my college campuses, I had the opportunity to develop a new position that fostered innovation, creativity and needed to be forward thinking. I made the best decision at that time in hiring April! I was fortunate enough to work with April directly on projects as she oversaw all of our enrollment marketing and communications projects. The breadth of her work covered all aspects to include concept, design and development of digital media campaigns and social media strategy.
In a highly competitive environment, it is critical to have the ability to anticipate shifts in the market and to adjust your online presence and strategy accordingly. April was able to lead our efforts not only with creativity but with the kind of forward thinking that allowed us to pivot when necessary because she studied the market, analyzed feedback and metrics and understands how and when to make adjustments that produced results in increasing visibility, inquiries and enrollment.
April’s services are essential for higher education enrollment and her tireless attention to the demands of the market are paramount when trying to differentiate yourself from a very crowded field.
When our association started the difficult process of finding a new web designer, April Ray Creative stepped in and helped us see the vision through all the questions. She was so easy to work with, responsive, insightful and organized. The website she delivered blew us all away and we have gotten huge compliments on our “glow up.” I couldn’t recommend her more than I already have- I keep sending friends her way and everyone comes away happy!
Portfolio
Ready for a refresh?
Your college’s website is your #1 online marketing tool.
Let us use our proven design process, team of experts, and marketing expertise to reimagine your school’s website.