Purdue University Northwest / Marketing and Communications / Strategy and Guidance / Website / CMS Guide / Best Practices / Full-Width Pages

Full-Width Pages

The following best practices will help you maximize the impact of your full-width pages.

The full-width template is best used for landing pages. A landing page is either a marketing-critical page one or two clicks from the homepage or the first page for a major section of the site.

Examples:

The full-width template was designed to inspire and engage visitors with photo and video; showcase PNW’s community with stories, quotes, and testimonials; and route visitors to useful information with cards. As a guiding principle when adding content to this page, “show, don’t tell.” In other words, lean on more visual assets and modules over blocks of text.

Tips for Success

  1. These pages should always emphasize a key call to action near the top of the page.
  2. If your page is for prospective students and families, use the pre-footer module to include a recruitment-focused call to action (e.g. Request Information, Visit, or Apply) at the end of the page.
  3. Limit the total amount of text. If your copy exceeds 500 words, there’s probably too much text on the page.

Best Practices for Full-Width Modules

Hero Subtitle

Use this space to introduce what visitors will find in this section of the site. Keep subtitles to one sentence and no more than 30 words.

Image Gallery

Use this module when the topic of your page is very visual and student-oriented. Galleries give a good sense of place and community.

To keep image galleries looking good across the site:

  1. Choose images that reflect PNW’s brand.
  2. Aim for four to six images in total. Favor quality over quantity.
  3. Include a caption for every image. This gives your visitors more context and is good for accessibility.

Stories Slider

Stories are most impactful on pages for prospective students and families. Only use stories when they are directly relevant to your page content.

Testimonial Slider

Testimonials are most impactful on pages for prospective students and families. They add authenticity and authority to your content because visitors get to hear directly from PNW students and alumni. For great testimonials:

  1. Keep testimonials to one or two sentences.
  2. The subject should be directly relevant to the page topic.
  3. Use the testimonial slider when you have three to four strong and relevant testimonials.
  4. Avoid repeating the same testimonials across pages within the same section of the website.