BY: Jack Ineson '19 and Kyle Zeigler '19

This fall, the University of Mount Union published a brand new website, which is the first major overhaul to the website since 2014. The website comes with a multitude of new updates and improvements.

Unnecessary pages were cut down, as 16,000 pages became approximately 4,000. Relevant information that was hidden deep in the website is now just a few clicks from the homepage. Old pages that contained very little information or dead links were consolidated or removed.

Major aesthetic updates have organized information into concise menus and folders. This has made room for beautiful videos and informational graphics to be placed right on the homepage.

However, with change there can be confusion and headaches on how to find pages that may have moved. Here are tips to get rid of those headaches and navigate the website more efficiently:

404 ERRORS NOT FOUND

One of the first apparent issues upon publication of the new website was that dreaded 404 error. This message appeared when attempting to click on links through your search browser. Luckily, this has been mostly corrected, with the exception of very few pages.

There were a couple of reasons for this error, both on Mount Union’s end and with search engines. 404 errors, also referred to as “not found” errors, were common during the initial publication due to links trying to track back to the old website. As search browsers have caught up and analyzed searches relating to the new website, it has corrected many of the errors by itself.

If you happen to come across any 404 errors, the best way to alleviate the problem is notifying information@mountunion.edu.

INTERNET AND INTEGRATED SEARCH ARE YOUR FRIENDS

Each page of the Mount Union website has been carefully tagged with keywords that allow it to be instantly searched. There are two easy ways to search for just about anything on the Mount Union website: searching through internet browsers or through Mount Union's own search engine.

Just like the 404 errors, the search bars have improved with time. As pages are being indexed by Google search engines, the outside engines will become more effective.

Using the search bar will allow you to find very specific information that may be multiple clicks into the website. For example, if you were looking for a specific link to a document, using the integrated search bar will be the best way to find it quickly and efficiently.

HAMBURGERS AREN’T JUST FOR EATING

One relatively unused, although extremely useful, part of the current website is the hamburger menu located next to the search bar. This hamburger menu contains all the information that used to clutter the entire top portion of the old website.

After dropping down the menu, there will be links to all external websites related to Mount Union such as Brightspace, Outlook, Self Service and iRaider. There are also tabs that will take you directly to major subsets of the website such as news, academics, and more. The hamburger menu will also follow you from page to page on the website making it easier to get around the website.

CURRENT STUDENTS PAGE: ONE STOP SHOP FOR CURRENT STUDENTS

The new website has included a tab focused directly on the Mount Union student. In the middle right hand side of the website is a “Current Students” tab. After clicking that link, it will take you to a page with many of the links that current students frequently use. Everything from an updated academic calendar to your course catalogue will be on this page.

Underneath frequently used links you will be able to find access to Mount Union's social media accounts and external websites like Brightspace. There is also an “events” tab so that you will never miss out on a Mount Union event again!

The new website shows incoming students and their families the beauty of our campus and the outstanding academics of Mount Union in a streamlined and visually appealing way. Although the website looks different, the new updates should only enhance the ease of navigation for current students as more time passes.