Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world
Author
Arielle Dworkin
The Belfer Center is pleased to call your attention to its newly designed and re-engineered website, https://www.belfercenter.org. This new website is the culmination of an extensive redesign process working alongside Boston-based firms Pod Consulting and Moth Design. Together, we created a web platform that unifies the Center’s work, furthers its reach, and shines a brighter light on the people and ideas that advance our mission.
The new site’s intuitive information architecture ensures all content is easily discoverable. Tens of thousands of pages of original site content was migrated from former web environments and re-organized to facilitate user-friendly site navigation and browsing.
The main menu in the header area improves ease of use by incorporating all accessible content in a streamlined method. On the desktop version of the site, the main menu is expandable through a mega-dropdown style, as indicated by downward facing arrows. Rolling over a navigation item with the downward arrow opens the mega menu, exposing an additional menu on the left hand side that is also activated on rollover.
For visitors looking for something specific, the advanced search feature allows you to find content by keywords or full page titles. To run a more detailed query, users may also select a category from the accompanying dropdown option to filter results within a specific area of the website – Research, Experts, Programs & Projects, Fellowships, or Events. Content-rich search results can then be further refined through the use of faceted filters by region, topic, date range, author, and more.
These usability enhancements in conjunction with a refreshed visual design allow the new site to better serve as a hub of distribution for the Belfer Center’s work. The front-end design has been updated with modern features and a refreshed aesthetic that supports the relevance of our research to contemporary policy challenges.
The new homepage curates some of the most insightful, forward-looking, and solution-centered ideas on global issues you will read anywhere. Showcased on the front page are a main feature, three spotlight stories, and additional topic-based research and related experts. Also included is a list of noteworthy upcoming events, featured experts, and the most viewed publications on the website that day.
All publication pages now support both short and long-form storytelling with the implementation of various in-page modules and embedded multimedia that serve to supplement the research and create a more engaging experience. If you desire more information after reading a publication, there are additional recommendations and related tags that allow readers to explore related work on the website.
In addition to enhancing the Center’s existing research products, the new site has a number of prominent additions to its research-based digital offerings, such as:
• ‘Special Initiatives’ under Programs & Projects contains blogs and other distinctive websites from the Center that are now all accessible under the main Belfer website.
• A multimedia section with photo galleries, original videos, broadcast appearances, and podcasts.
We took a user-centered approach to planning for the new site. An astounding 80% of all internet users own a smartphone, with 83% reporting that a seamless experience across all devices is important, so it was imperative that the diverse technology needs of our visitors were met. The site was built with a responsive design; making it adaptable across all widely used browsers and devices – be it desktop, tablet, or mobile.
Engagement of users with site content is strongly encouraged on the new website. There are social media sharing features that allow readers to seamlessly connect with their social networks and easily share Belfer Center content with their friends and colleagues. The new comment feature found at the bottom of many publication pages also encourages visitors to share their opinions and join the discussion.
One of the Belfer Center’s top commodities is its community of leading authorities in government and academia from all over the world. The expanded Experts area includes an ‘In the Spotlight’ section that shows trending subjects in the news, and the top Center experts available for commentary in that area. Members of the press can also now directly request commentary from experts using the new ‘request interview’ button, which sends a direct inquiry to the appropriate point of contact. Visitors can find the entire pool of experts in the ‘All Experts’ tab, or search for specific experts using the advanced filters for name, internal affiliations, and areas of expertise.
We hope you will use and enjoy the new website. Please explore it and send feedback to Arielle_Dworkin@hks.harvard.edu
Dworkin, Arielle. "New Website Supports Center’s Mission with Advanced Features." Belfer Center Newsletter, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School (Summer 2017).
