The recent launch of the new website has caused some of the links to redirect to a “page not found.” Some of the links affected by the launch are the “Report a Bias-Related Incident” and “Public Safety” when clicking from MySJU and when clicking on stjohns.edu links from Google — then another “page not found” appears.
In response to the Torch’s inquiry about whether the University is aware of the issue, University Spokesperson Brian Browne sent a statement explaining that these issues are a byproduct of the new look.
“With the launch of any new website, and especially one that hosts approximately 9,000 pages, comes a period of adjustment and the need to address issues that arise post-launch,” he said. “A byproduct of a website redesign includes changes to link structure, which subsequently causes previously functioning pages to be redirected.”
He further stated that anyone who finds broken links can email the Office of Marketing and Communications directly at [email protected], and added that the Digital Team is working to correct the links that are failing to redirect.
“We are aware of this redirect issue and the University’s Digital Team continues to ensure that the redirects are working and that the number of non-functioning links are eliminated,” Browne said.
Although Browne said that this is only the first version of the site and more changes will be made based on user feedback, many students are having trouble navigating the website during one of the most important times in the school year.
“I really count on Google to help me navigate through the St. John’s website since the new layout is taking me time to adjust to,” graduate student Nancy Rabbat said. “The issue with doing that is that a lot of the web pages don’t exist anymore which is a bit frustrating when you are looking for a quick link.”
Sophomore Jenna Hope said that she enjoys that the website looks “more professional.” However, she thinks the website could be more user-friendly. “It is difficult to navigate — and considering this is coming from a student who was comfortable using the prior website, I can only imagine how impossible navigation may be for future Johnnies and their families,” Hope said.
As a student worker, she mentioned how she’s watched her supervisors struggle to update their pages. She added that she hasn’t been able pick where she’d like to dorm next year.
“I am unsure of where I would like to dorm next year because unlike prior years, I can’t google residence halls without clicking on a link that leads me to a page that says ‘Page Not Found,’” she said.
Browne added that the University is “closely monitoring the progress of the search optimization process.”
He added, “We are familiar with and have followed the steps necessary to ensure that all major search engines crawl our new site map and index our new pages so that we can retain our search engine optimization rankings.”
