Knox College

The Problem

The Knox admissions office was looking to more effectively target students in its applicant pool and boost applications overall. Faced with a short runway before the impending admissions cycle, we initially focused resources on a cosmetic refresh of top-level landing pages and the admissions funnel, delivering record engagement resulting in gains in both quantity and quality of applicants. From that foundation, we reorganized and redesigned the entire site, sending a message to prospective students – Knox is dynamic, fresh, and relevant.

The Solution

Making waves at a historic institution like Knox College is a tall task. By redesigning key landing pages and the entire admission pipeline, we communicated the Knox brand on pages where it mattered most and provided clear calls-to-action for next steps. Prospective students received the message loud and clear, and in record numbers.

The Outcome

To focus on the primary audience – prospective students – we overhauled the Knox homepage, eschewing long pieces of copy and ineffective image carousels in favor of a page flow bursting with engaging imagery, intriguing statistics, and clear calls to action. We also moved over 1,000 pages to an internal portal for faculty, staff, and current students. The result? A site optimized for students on the go, with a 23.7% increase in session duration for mobile devices and a 19% decrease in homepage bounce rate across all devices. Visitors stay longer and consume more content than ever before.

-1,000 pages, moved to new archive
+23.7% mobile session duration
11% increase in offers of admission
19% decrease in homepage bounce rate