Cyberspace can be intimidating -- especially when designers of web pages seem intent on offering so many links that their homepages become hopelessly cluttered. Stanford wants to be part of the solution. Its new plan: simplify, simplify, simplify.
The University's revamped homepage has just 17 links, down from more than 50. That makes for a less cluttered, more user-friendly jumping-off point for the University's vast web presence. An alphabetical index and search engine aid 20,000-plus daily visitors. The index lists more than 1,000 sites, ranging from the African Studies Center to a group for Zoroastrians (some sites are cross-referenced more than once under different names). The new design also features a palette of white, cardinal and sandstone in place of the old blue background, which reminded some of those dreaded Cal Bears.
Other goals of the $15,000 redesign were more philosophical. Alan Acosta, director of the University news service, which oversees the site, says his team considered even the order of the eight main links (teaching and research came out on top, athletics on the bottom).
So far, compliments far outnumber complaints, says Andy Krackov, managing editor of the site. One response: "For the first time a homepage worthy of the greatest University on the Planet." It's that simple.
