The last time USC’s website was updated was at least 10 years ago. To put that into perspective, in 2003: Myspace had just come out, Ruben Studdard won American Idol and Beyonce had just released “Dangerously In Love.” That was quite a while ago, in other words.
In the digital age, keeping up with website design and functionality is absolutely a must, so 10 years with no update is pretty sad.
Not to mention, first impressions matter a lot, and USC’s old website wasn’t doing our university any favors.
The new design showcases some of the university’s most beautiful sites — the Horseshoe and that $14,000 fountain in front of the Thomas Cooper Library included — so prospective students won’t have to make the trip to Columbia to be wooed into applying.
The drastic revamp also makes the site much sleeker and easier for practically anyone (grandmas included) to get around.
The map feature is our favorite, with step-by-step walking, biking and driving directions from building to building and real-time, color-coded traffic updates to tell you not to drive down Blossom Street, well, ever. To top it off, it looks pretty darn cool.
And while yeah, there’s no assurance that this new website, with it’s pretty pictures and intuitive design, will definitely make more students want to keep USC on the top of their college list — or guarantee them a bed on campus if they do decide to come here — we can at least be glad that administration is moving forward in the right direction (and into this decade).