McGill.CA / Web Services

What’s changed (and why it’s better)

Three home pages instead of one.

The main difference: instead of one home page that tries to be all things to all people, we now have three, each with customized links and content for a different audience:

  1. Students
  2. Staff/Faculty
  3. the External Community

At the top of each page, you can choose the home page that fits you best.  For example, on the homepage for Students, you may see links to exam schedules, tutoring help and other helpful resources.  On the one for Faculty/Staff, you’ll find HR workshops, administrative policies, Teaching and Learning Services and more.  If you set one of these as your browser’s home page, you’ll save a click every time you want to find the content that’s most important to you.

To learn why we did this, find out how your feedback built the homepage.

What exactly will be customized on the page?

Almost everything on these three home pages can be customized by audience, including:

  • Links in the main menu
  • The primary and secondary slideshows
  • News and events
  • Popular pages
  • Popular tools

What else has changed?

  1. A lot less clutter – and a lot less text.
    2. With three separate home pages, each one only needs to accommodate one particular audience.  That means we can drastically reduce the clutter – filtering out the irrelevant items so you can find the ones you want. 
  2. Easier access to tools like e-mail, Minerva and myMcGill.
    You told us this was really important, so we gave you more than one way to find them from the home page.
  3. Links to maps and directories right on the home page.
    Now you can find what you want, instead of hunting for the tool you need to find it!
  4. Lists of current popular pages, customized for each audience.
    The McGill website has lots of content – like Convocation info and exam schedules – isn't popular year-round, but is really important during specific periods.  All three home pages can now link to these pages when they're needed – and link somewhere else when they're not.
  5. Better display on smartphones and wide screens.
    CRT monitors are a thing of the past, and the way of the future is much bigger – and much smaller – screens.  The new home page is easier to view and navigate, whether you're surfing on your 3.5" iPhone or a 30" widescreen monitor. 
  6. An airier, more modern look and feel.
    We designed it to be more useful, but we happen to think it's a whole lot prettier too – we hope you agree!
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