Students, parents, counselors and financial aid professionals now have a new "Mapping Your Future®," offering easier access to enhanced career, college, financial aid and money management information and services. The redesigned website features improved navigation, new content and a new website address.
On March 28, 2008, Mapping Your Future debuted its new website and switched to a new primary address: MappingYourFuture.org.
"The goal of the Mapping Your Future website redesign was to create a site that's usable so students, families and schools can find information on careers, college, financial aid and money management," said Cathy Mueller, executive director of Mapping Your Future. "We believe this new design will make it easier for users to find the information and services they need quickly and easily."
This use of MappingYourFuture.org as the primary web address protects the Mapping Your Future trademark. Mapping Your Future will continue its ownership of mapping-your-future.org, and users who visit that address will be redirected to the Mapping Your Future home page at the new address.
The new design features enhanced navigation, new graphics and additional content - all to meet the redesign objectives:
- Presenting a visual design that is contemporary, understated and possesses maximum usability
- Implementing a new primary website address to make it easier for users to find the website
- Following the latest web usability guidelines
- Retaining brand identity
- Improving the navigation on the site
- Allowing for easy expansion of the site as new features and services are developed
- Enhancing accessibility by maintaining compatibility with the American Disabilities Act
- Maintaining compatibility with a variety of browsers
The website appearance is similar to the previous website, in that it uses Mapping Your Future's branding, including logo, colors and graphics. However, Mapping Your Future introduced new content for the web site, which follows standards for writing effectively for the web.
Users may experience changes in the way they navigate the website. Mapping Your Future updated its topic navigation so it uses the terminology that helps students and families with the following tasks:
Plan your career
Prepare for college
Pay for college
Manage your money
Complete Online Student Loan Counseling
Play Show Me the Future®
Based in Round Rock, Texas, Mapping Your Future is a neutral, non-proprietary and non-commercial national collaborative, public-service organization of the financial aid industry - bringing together the expertise of the industry to provide services online. Since 1996, Mapping Your Future has received a number of awards, including recognition for its excellence in content and innovation in technology services.
Mapping Your Future provides step-by-step instructions on career, college planning and financial aid. In addition, the site offers Online Student Loan Counseling, money management information and tools, college planning topics and online customer service for schools and their students.
Posted 04/11/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Posting of press releases is done as a service to Members and does not imply endorsement or support by NASFAA. NASFAA does not review this information for content or accuracy.
