Design vs. Usability

[Andrea M. Dillon]

For higher education websites, do you find it more important for the website to be attractive, or be simple and usable?

Is there a way to get both simplicity for users of all ages with an overall look that is also attractive to multiple age groups but still eye catching to prospective students?

[dmazon]

I think it is vital to have both, however if you have limited resources (time or money) then I would focus on usability first and foremost. After all, the basic purpose of a website is to deliver information that your target audience is looking for. I have seen it many times, a website looks really cool but then when you go to use it and start to look for a specific topic it becomes cumbersome. After a while you just quit looking. Don't get me wrong, it is very important to have a sharp looking site too but first and foremost the user is coming to your site to find information on a specific topic and if you can't provide that information they will just go somewhere else to find it, even if the site appears to be eye catching.

As far as incorporating both attractive and usable check out http://www.edustyle.net for inspiration.

[Tina]

I also agree with dmazon. What I've found is that in higher education, a lot of the "higher-uppers" really don't care about the design so much as long as it looks clean and understandable. I drives me nuts with the "above-the-fold" perception everyone has, to squeeze as much information on the top portion, when you can create a lot of elegant, sophisticated websites with the use of negative space. Importantly, figure what what is the purpose of the site, what you need to communicate that purpose, then create a design that fits that purpose. Design is a communication tool :P (That sounded text-booky). I should start a discussion about the "above-the-fold" perception. Curious to see what people's thought on that is.

[Adeline Yaw]

I read this recently about the "above-the-fold" perception, "Don’t fear the fold – people do scroll" http://bit.ly/62mt21 (via http://www.456bereastreet.com)

[Chad Hietala]

I think they are both very important regardless of time line and budget. Your web expirence should be rich, fun and easy to use. I can't really see a design not appealing to the multiple audiences, its more in your information architecture and page content that mandates that. One major step in making sure that your site speaks to everyone, is the main navigation. Try taking out items that place people in baskets in your main navigation. There are plenty of resources that could go in main navigation that don't necessarily make people make a choice in where they want to go. Still have audience based navigation but not in he main navigation.

Here is an excellent example of a trendy design with navigation that does not put people in baskets.
http://www.wccnet.edu/