Missed your May 2026 webinar? We've got you covered! Fill out the form at the bottom of the blog to access the recording.
May's webinar was all about peeking under the hood of successful websites to understand what makes them useful and effective for you and your team, beyond just aesthetics.
Over the next few weeks, we will expand the six pillars of high-performing websites from May's webinar into separate blog posts to give you an in-depth look at how you and your team can orient your website experience to best serve you, your users, and your prospective students in a practical way.
Your institution has some big goals this year: more enrollment, more alum donations, more scheduled tours, revamping & rebranding marketing, or maybe even modernizing the back-end of your website. Naturally, your team suggests a redesign. Start with the aesthetics and work your way down, right?
Hold! Let's clear up some misconceptions...
A website is no longer just a billboard and a brochure; it is the engine of your marketing & sales, your tour guide, your webmaster & IT team's digital workspace, and the storage for your photos, text, and other digital assets.
Websites are now the engine of your institution's digital efforts. Therefore, you're going to need more than just a new paint job!
In Kat Liendgen's May webinar, CEO of Hannon Hill, she emphasizes the importance of understanding that the opinions about your institution are now being formed before the student, parent, or general prospect has ever set a digital foot onto your website. Students are leveraging AI to help make decisions about tuition costs, salary ranges, reputation, and so much more. What's more: your website's engine (your CMS) is contributing to or hindering those efforts.
Why should this matter to you? Because the information AI feeds students is based on your website being well-structured and AEO-ready.
Having structured content, uniform page layout themes, updated, specific information that is crawlable, and more, can help AI feed students with proper, up-to-date information. It can also place you further up in search engine results!
Kat emphasizes the importance of placing your web team at the forefront of strategy when it comes to unifying page layouts (which helps AI read your website by distinguishing titles, subtitles, and content), and not simply leveraging your web team to execute and fix smaller issues.
As mentioned at the beginning of this blog, improved site functionality and performance do not always equate to a full-on redesign.
There are several smaller targets that you and your team can aim for to create high-impact results that bring your website more clarity, smoother internal systems, more web traffic, and an overall pleasant experience for your website visitors. Here are some suggestions Kat gave the audience:
Start with quick audits that reveal obvious gaps.
These steps can uncover immediate opportunities without requiring a large project plan.
Move from quick fixes to structured improvements.
This is where teams can begin connecting website improvements to enrollment and engagement goals.
Build the foundation for long-term performance.
These efforts help your website adapt as student expectations, search behavior, and institutional priorities continue to evolve.
Come back over the next few weeks to get a deeper dive into each pillar of a high-functioning higher-ed website that can help you create a plan for you and your team around optimizing your website for the future. Increasing enrollment, retention, donations, and tour requests does not have to be a complicated process.
Kat's final thoughts, shared with the audience, focused on driving home the point that your website experience has become your prospective students' entire (and sometimes only) experience before deciding on your institution.
Websites were once the beginning of the decision-making process for students and parents; now they are the final stop, with decisions made within independent AI programs that "communicate" and extract information from your website before a student even visits. It is crucial to understand how the back-end structure plays a role in your entire institution's success!
Kat ended the webinar on a good note by sharing good news:
Auditing your website is as simple as opening your mobile phone to view your mobile experience, assigning content owners, creating a simple personalization strategy (e.g., alum vs. new students), and helping your team decide on a unified format, font, and size for web titles, subtitles, and more.
Each improvement helps students find information faster, build trust sooner, and take meaningful action with more confidence.
Hannon Hill helps colleges and universities create scalable, engaging, and future-ready digital experiences through Cascade CMS and Clive Personalization. Whether your institution is improving governance, enhancing personalization, or preparing for AI-powered search, the right foundation can help your website perform today and adapt for what comes next.
To learn more about how Cascade CMS and Clive Web Personalization can help your institution reach more students than ever before, reach out to our team.
Last Updated: Jun 4, 2026 9:00 AM
