Hartnell College partnered with us to rethink their website from the ground up. We started with discovery, then redesigned and rebuilt the site to better support prospective students and drive action.
The Opportunity
The existing site was organized around departments, not students. It was difficult to navigate, hard to explore programs, and didn’t clearly guide users to next steps.
Hartnell needed a site that:
- Speaks to prospective students first
- Makes programs easier to explore
- Clearly supports enrollment actions
Before
After
What We Did
Reframed the Website Around Students
We restructured the site to follow the student journey — not the institutional organizational chart. Navigation and content now prioritize how users explore, decide, and take action.
Modernized the Design
We designed a fully modern, mobile-first interface that reflects Hartnell’s brand and improves usability across devices.
Rather than static templates, we built a flexible design system:
- Reusable components and modules
- Consistent visual language across the site
- Scalable foundation for future growth
Dynamic Academics Experience
One of the most impactful transformations was the Academics section.
We transformed the Academics section into a guided experience, with multiple paths to explore, all leading to the same place. With the new design, students can:
- Explore majors and programs more easily
- Understand different educational paths (transfer, career, degrees)
- Find the right fit based on their goals and interests
This turned what is typically a static program list into an interactive decision-support tool that lets students explore programs, understand their options, and find the right fit more easily.
Academics navigation that provides students with an overview of the many learning paths at Hartnell
Dynamic directory of all programs with the ability to filter by interests and goals.
Standardized academic template for a consistent exploration/browsing experience.
Content Strategy & Marketing Focus
We developed content for key pages, including the homepage and top-level entry points—to better tell Hartnell’s story and guide users to action.
Key improvements:
- Clear calls-to-action (apply, enroll, explore programs)
- Stronger, student-centered messaging
Structured content that supports scanning and usability
Development in Modern Campus CMS
Hartnell was already on Modern Campus CMS, so we didn’t start over. We built on their existing foundation, updating templates, redesigning and improving existing components and snippets, and creating new ones where needed.
This approach allowed us to modernize the experience while maintaining continuity, which helped us to save time, reduce disruption, and make the most of their current system.
The Result
Hartnell College now has a modern, student-first website that makes it easier to explore programs, understand next steps, and take action, built on a flexible foundation for the future.