Pardes Institute Website (2002-2008)

The development of a major upgrade of the Pardes website began in a time of fewer tools and platforms than are available today. Nevertheless, a unique, friendly, and attractive site with high functionality was successfully developed within non-profit resource constraints. Students consistently provide positive feedback about their online pre-enrollment program evaluation and registration experience.

• A consistent format for presentation of program information
• A clear navigation system incorporating double-level dropdown menus
• A robust Student Life section with student profiles and comments
• Three photos related to the content on all main pages throughout the site
• Minimal intrusion of content not related to recruitment

The result is that the relevant program information is easy to find, enabling applicants to quickly get a sense of whether Pardes is the right place for them, and the lack of distractions streamlines the process of both their decison-making and the application process. The more time applicants spend viewing unrelated material, the higher the chance that they will be interrupted by a friend or roommate and drawn away from the site.

Goal: Overcoming Resource Limitations
As a non-profit institution, Pardes had nowhere near the budget required for a website competitive with those of larger institutions such as universities; however, the potential applicants were accustomed to sophisticated websites.

Quality was achieved by incorporating concepts designed by a traditional graphic artist with a technically-oriented web development team. While challenging from a project management point of view, the result is an attractive and unique look at a fraction of the cost of comparable sites.

In addition, styles of websites change frequently. Pardes could not afford a major site redesign every two years, therefore we went with a unique and classical look rather than a trendy one, incorporating:

• An unconventional look to avoid frequent redesigns
• A combination of back-end technology programs into one look
• A low-cost approach to user diversity of browsers and screen resolutions

Goal: Institutional Image
We wanted the look and feel of the website to complement the position of Pardes as an educational institution which merges classical Jewish text study with contemporary thought. The design combines these elements with an unconventional warm wallpaper background overlaid by a fluid, modern design. Graphical text for the nav bars enhances the look of the site. This unique look makes the site attractive and strongly memorable at a time when many educational program websites are either ‘in style’ but indistinguishable from one another, or out-of-date.

The professional presentation of material was buttressed by eliminating the ubiquitous multi-colored exclamation points, flashing text and pasted on announcements which characterized the previous incarnation of the site.

Another aspect promoted by the website design is the size of the institution. By finding an appropriate place for old content and adding new material, the site contains a robust quantity of material unusual for an institution of its size. This substantiates the fact that Pardes is a long-established institution as well as successfully creating the impression of a larger institution. Due to the successful presentation of a high quality image, site visitors and others who are unfamiliar with the organization assume it to be of significantly greater size. This was achieved through:

• A warm wallpaper background promoting the Pardes focus on Jewish texts
• Quality graphical design
• Graphical nav bar text
• The combination of a traditional look with modern elements such as a Flash photo scroll
• The incorporation of a large amount of diverse material
• A professional, creative presentation without flashy fonts and superfluous exclamation points