Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Rotunda Online
The Rotunda
Wednesday, July 9, 2025

More Blue and White Comes to Longwood's Site

If you have visited Longwood University's homepage, longwood.edu, recently, you may have noticed a new color scheme. The new design is complemented by a blue header and footer with white space in the middle. A new featured scrolling bar also appears at the top of the homepage.

According to Director of Web Communications Dave Hooper, the change is an effort to bring Longwood's site up-to-date with some of the modern web trends. Hooper said that so far, he has only received positive feedback from the new look of the site, visited daily by current and perspective Longwood students.

Kevin Bryant, web designer/developer, explained some of the new changes that affect the aesthetic aspect of lognwood.edu. For one, the width of the website, which was previously a full-width site, now has a fixed-width. Bryant said this allows for more control over how the site actually looks.

Also, the style of the site is more modern and in-line with what other universities' websites look like and what is found on the homepages of many of popular websites across the Internet.

"The first stage of this is mostly aesthetic," said Bryant. "It's about the design." Bryant described the site as more appealing and exciting. He also said that on the World Wide Web, Longwood's site has equal features when compared to anyone else in the region.

The initial design for the new website scheme was started by one of Bryant's predecessors about a year ago. The development took place over the past month and the new scheme was unveiled over winter break.

Even though the focus now is primarily about the look of the site, Bryant said that features and functionality are also important. "We're always looking at new ways of being interactive."

There are no new features in this new Web 2.0 platform yet, but changes may be coming right around the corner. "All of this is a part of a new focus to bring our website into having a more up-to-date purpose," Bryant said.

The Web Communications Department is looking at making a push toward a more functional mobile site to be used by students, parents and other visitors on the go. The hope is for the user's experience with Longwood's website on smart phones and other mobile devices to improve. "We're behind in the mobile space and that's something that we're going to play catch-up on," Bryant said.

Hooper said a few minor changes would take place in the upcoming weeks. A few improvements would be made to the homepage and, most likely, a restructuring of some of the homepage content will occur.

The last design change came in 2008 and was a "major overhaul," according to Bryant. This year's change affects more of the site's look, not so much its feel. That is not to say that a new feel will be absent from some of the website's changes.

Hooper said that incremental changes will occur over time, but nothing too significant would be happening. "This is all related to improving the functionality of our website," he said.

Bryant also stated, "Redesign is one facet of it. It's all about bringing all that information to the front."

Trending