Website Redesign and Restructuring

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Simplifying complex information to create a clean, supportive learning experience.

Opportunity

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a globally accessed academic writing resource supporting students, educators, and researchers. It operates alongside Purdue’s On-Campus Writing Lab, which provides in-person tutoring and academic support services. With approximately 70 million users, the OWL generated substantial analytics data but lacked the insight required to meaningfully interpret user experience quality. Website user retention required improvement, and most students were unaware of available in-person Writing Lab services.

The objective was to translate quantitative data into actionable design recommendations and create a more cohesive, research-informed ecosystem for both sites.

Outcome

The redesign strengthens accessibility standards, simplifies the OWL site hierarchy, and establishes clearer visual separation between the OWL and the On-Campus Writing Lab, improving resource discovery and awareness of available support services.

This solution addresses key questions about navigation, content hierarchy, and readability, guiding the restructuring of content to make resources easier to access, explore, and understand:

Click on final design images to enlarge for better visibility

What is the most effective way to distinguish between the On-Campus Writing Lab and the Purdue OWL?

  • Unique logos that portray each resource's mission.
  • Quick links to the most popular pages and resources.
  • Short descriptions that clarify the purposes of the Writing Lab and the OWL.
The redesigned Purdue OWL homepage displays a black and gold header with the Purdue University and College of Liberal Arts logos, followed by a simplified navigation bar with links to Home, OWL, Writing Lab, Research, Contact, and Donate, plus a search bar on the right. The main section features large white text reading ‘Welcome to The Purdue OWL’ on a dark background image of campus. To the right, two rounded white panels highlight online and on-campus writing resources. The top panel includes gold buttons labeled OWL Homepage, APA Formatting, Style Guide, and MLA Formatting beside the OWL logo. The lower panel introduces the Purdue Writing Lab with a diamond logo and gold buttons for WL Homepage, Scheduler, Students, and Faculty. The footer provides Purdue University’s contact information and social media icons on a black background. The layout uses high contrast, large type, and clear separation between sections to improve accessibility and readability.

How can the Writing Lab better communicate its campus offerings and promote the services that students find the most valuable?

  • Instructions for scheduling tutoring sessions.
  • Event details and upcoming workshop listings.
  • Student and tutor testimonials to build trust.
  • Clear contact and address information to further emphasize the physical location.

How can online resources be presented more clearly to support scannibility?

OWL Homepage

  • Mission statement for understanding site purpose.
  • Streamlined access to popular resources.

OWL Content Landing Pages

  • Visually-focused layout for quick access and understanding of subheadings / page groups.

How can content be structured to help users locate information more efficiently?

  • Collapsible headings that increase scannability and allow users to expand only the sections they need.
  • Clear spacing, indentation, and visual grouping for better readability.
  • Callout boxes that highlight key examples and important information.

Project Overview

Project Goal

The goal of this project was to improve the usability and clarity of Purdue’s writing resources by redefining how information is structured and presented across the Purdue OWL and On-Campus Writing Lab websites. What began as an effort to distinguish the two platforms evolved into a broader redesign that emphasized clearer visual hierarchy, streamlined navigation, and stronger promotion of on-campus services to increase awareness and engagement among Purdue students.

User Group

The redesign served two key user groups: Purdue students and the global OWL community of teachers, students, and researchers. For OWL users, improved navigation and visual hierarchy enhanced readability, accessibility, and overall site usability. For Purdue students, these same design updates clarified how to access the On-Campus Writing Lab's services, creating a cohesive experience that better connects with both audiences.

Final Deliverable

The final deliverable is a redesigned website experience that prioritizes accessibility, simplified navigation, and clearer pathways to find relevant resources. The proposed flow aimed to visually separate the two sites, condense and organize the OWL site hierarchy, and to highlight the Writing Lab’s consultation tools to ensure all students can easily find the right support for their writing needs.

Research Methods
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