Website Redesign Scheduled to Go Live, Debut New Interactive Campus Tour

The University website will have an updated look, more mobile-friendly capabilities and a new interactive virtual tour when the newly responsive site goes live on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

A responsive site automatically restructures the webpage so that it loads faster and is more easily viewed on the smaller screens of smart phones and tablets. In this way, Duquesne’s website is able to keep up with the increasing use of mobile devices in the college search process.

The Offices of Computing and Technology Services and Marketing and Communications have also updated the organization of the homepage, certain page layouts and the color scheme in the University’s template to offer a fresh look in addition to a responsive design.

One of the most exciting changes to the site is the addition of an interactive virtual tour of Duquesne’s campus. The Offices of Enrollment Management and Marketing and Communications have created the tour with the help of YouVisit, a firm that specializes in creating virtual reality experiences and has created campus tours for dozens of colleges and universities around the world.

The new guided tour offers prospective students, parents and other visitors to the University’s website a look at many physical locations of interest or key importance to campus and student life. The tour includes 20 tour stops with 30 panoramic, 360-degree photos within those stops.

“Visitors who take our new online tour can get a very full picture of the layout of our beautiful urban campus as well as see what life is like for our students,” said Kelley Maloney, director of marketing and communication for enrollment management. “Even if prospective students are unable to make it to campus in person, our new tour will leave them with a comprehensive and positive impression of our educational facilities, residence halls and dining options like never before.”

For an example of what the tour will look like, follow the tour of Columbia University.

While the tour will primarily be seen on the University’s website, YouVisit also provides a virtual reality headset option for the purpose of introducing prospective students to the campus at college fairs and other off-campus events via this emerging technology.