09/29/14
With more than 80,000 page views a day, the www.fhsu.edu website has become the most popular tool for accessing information about Fort Hays State University.

Now the FHSU website is easier to use than ever.

Beginning today, the website features a "responsive" web design that makes the pages display appropriately on all devices. It eliminates the need for pinching and zooming by automatically responding to the screen size of the device that is being used. Desktops, tablets, mobile phones and all other devices now are served the same website content, optimized to fit that screen.

Responsive design works on a grid-based structure that allows the website to shift different portions of the webpage around based on the screen size of the device being used to view it. Menus collapse into easy-to-use buttons and certain parts of the page shift around to better fit the screen.

"Today, websites are not just being viewed on desktops and laptops. Students, faculty, parents and others are accessing the Web with their smart phones and tablets. We needed the FHSU website to serve anyone, using any device," said Kristin Rupp, FHSU's Web content manager. "Responsive design was the clear answer, and we are very excited to be able to enhance our website with responsive design."

If a user comes across a page on the website that has information cut off, or just isn't appearing quite right, most likely there is something set up on the page that is conflicting with the responsive design. Just send an email to webmaster@fhsu.edu and include the page URL, the device being used and a description of the problem. Rupp will look at the page and make the needed adjustments to resolve the issue.

"It's really nice to know that going forward, as new devices become available with new resolutions and screen sizes, our website will work on any of them," Rupp said.

So, grab your iPad, iPhone, Galaxy, Kindle or any other gadget. You're going to be pleasantly surprised by your new and improved Web experience when you visit the FHSU website.