SMC CompetitiveAnalysis InProgress · The competitor websites examined were: ! • East Los Angeles...
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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Santa Monica College Mavi Laidlaw - April 8, 2014 1 COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS - SANTA MONICA COLLEGE
Transcript of SMC CompetitiveAnalysis InProgress · The competitor websites examined were: ! • East Los Angeles...
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS!Santa Monica College
Mavi Laidlaw - April 8, 2014!!
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Executive Summary!This competitive analysis was conducted as part of the Santa Monica College website
re-design. The goals of this analysis are to identify the content and functionality at competing websites, both to inform the redesign as well as better understand areas of competitive advantage. !!The competitor websites examined were: !• East Los Angeles College (ELAC)!• Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC)!• Glendale Community College (GCC)!• University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)!• Santa Monica College (SMC)!
All of the colleges and universities chosen for this analysis are located in and around
Los Angeles, California. We chose to compare Santa Monica College (SMC) to local
competitors to get a better feel of what the local colleges are offering, and how SMC can
better surpass the competition. The analysis revealed a core set of content that was covered
by all the websites, as well as unique content only available at a single competitors’ website. !
The Website Content section at the end of this analysis, provides additional details
concerning the information available at those competitor websites. Examining the wide
variety of website functionality that is offered by the competitors also raises a number of
possibilities for the re-designed website. Notable among that functionality were: !
• Responsive web design!
• Front page slideshow!
• Search functionality!
The analysis documents provide additional areas of functionality, while providing further
details about the items mentioned previously. !
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Glendale Community College (GCC)!
Faculty & Staff!
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Students!
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Overview:!The Glendale Community College website is bright, informative and well laid out for a site that was designed to inform. However the class of multiple colors, rounded beveled buttons combined with other design elements make the site look a bit unappealing to users. It’s cluttered with various amount of links and information. It’s hard to focus.
Effectiveness RatingOverall Experience: xxxxx
Functionality: xxxxx
Look & Feel: xxxxx
Los Angeles Valley!
Faculty & Staff!
Students!
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Overview:!The Los Angeles Valley College website uses the branding of the college well, keeping the colors and logo consistent. Despite the large amount of links on this website the combination of info graphics and text make it easier to find the information your looking for. The layout and design are uninteresting and standard.
Effectiveness RatingOverall Experience: xxxxx
Functionality: xxxxx
Look & Feel: xxxxx
East Los Angeles Community College (ELAC)!!Faculty & Staff!
!!!!!!!!!Students!
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Overview:!The East Los Angeles Community College website is so cluttered with links, images, and clashing colors that it’s hard to focus on the information. It’s layout lacks white space, organization and hierarchy. All of the necessary information is available but it’s time consuming to find.
Effectiveness RatingOverall Experience: xxxxx
Functionality: xxxxx
Look & Feel: xxxxx
University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA)!
Faculty & Staff!
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Students!
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Overview:!The University of California Los Angeles website is the nicest of the compared sites. The key highlight is that the site is responsive for any screen. The layout is clean, the colors represent the brand well. There are a lot of links but the way the information is laid out, it’s easy to find anything your looking for.
Effectiveness RatingOverall Experience: xxxxx
Functionality: xxxxx
Look & Feel: xxxxx
Santa Monica College (SMC)!
Faculty & Staff!
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Students!
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Overview:!The Santa Monica College website uses the brand well, regarding the logo and colors. The jumbo tron slideshow on the front show displays a good sense of what it’s like to attend the university. The layout is where this site suffers. It’s too cluttered, there is too much information, too much text and too many places to search for the needed information. The links need to be organized better and minimized.
Effectiveness RatingOverall Experience: xxxxx
Functionality: xxxxx
Look & Feel: xxxxx
Website Content!
Content found at multiple competitor websites
East LA College (ELAC)
LA Valley College (LAVC)
Glendale Community
College (GCC)
University of CA Los Angeles (UCLA)
Santa Monica College (SMC)
Search Functionality x x x x x
Front Page Slideshow x x x x
Contact Information x x x x
Responsive Website x
Alumni Info x x x
Degree Requirements x x x x x
Faculty/Staff section x x x x
Tuition Fee Info x x x x
Financial Aid Info x x x x x
FAQ Section x x
News/Current Events x x x x x
Course Registration x x x x x
Rank Effectiveness 2.0/5.0 3.3/5.0 3.0/5.0 4.3/5.0 3.0/5.0
Total #of Features 8/12 10/12 8/12 11/12 10/12
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