Stanford Web Services (SWS) designers partner with our university colleagues to deliver beautiful, modern websites that support internal content creators and their teams.
For SWS, user experience design goes beyond polished, modern websites—it’s about creating sustainable design systems that empower authors to launch and manage their platforms, enabling them to:
- Produce new content
- Add to their design and technical systems over time
- Leverage these systems to build new websites
We're dedicated to understanding the specific needs of our client partners, their team dynamics, and how our designers can seamlessly integrate into their teams.
Collaboration in action
In 2024, our expertise ranged from collaborating on campaign websites and redesigning existing sites to adapting core offerings to meet unique branding needs.
Below are some examples of our work around campus last year:
Momentum website: In partnership with the Office of Development (OOD), our team collaborated with OOD writers, digital experts, and designers to initially build a campaign website. Over time, the site evolved into a platform for showcasing 'Stanford’s community of thinkers, makers, doers, and boundary pushers shaping our future.' The dynamic components developed for this site have since been utilized to create President Levin’s Tour website.
“The level of creativity, dedication, and professionalism from the entire team [at SWS] was instrumental in making the site the stellar product it is today — truly a testament to what can be achieved when talented teams come together with a shared vision!”
—Eric Pond, Director, Design & Brand, Office of DevelopmentStanford Report product: University Communications (UComm) led the design of the Stanford Report product, and SWS contributed long-form story designs and marketing campaign templates. This collaboration provided UComm writers and editors with the tools to craft creative stories within the established design system.
Stanford University Press (sup.org): When the Stanford Press website called for modernization, we assessed its content needs and updated the navigation system, information display, and design architecture to showcase their beautiful books and support future product growth. We simplified the customer journey to improve the user experience and streamline the online purchasing process. The new site aligns with industry standards, facilitating interaction with their award-winning publications while also enabling continuous improvement — like the upcoming eBooks functionality — allowing the SUP team to maintain a modern site for years to come.
Taiwan Hub: We transformed the core offering of Stanford Sites to meet the Taiwan Hub’s branding and visual identity needs without requiring a fully custom site. Instead, our team customized elements (e.g., buttons, footer, typography,) giving taiwanhub.stanford.edu a fresh and distinctive appearance while leveraging the existing Stanford Sites framework.
Committed to Stanford’s mission
We're deeply embedded in Stanford’s mission, allowing us to fully understand the complexities and stories of our campus colleagues. We're committed to meeting Stanford’s rigorous standards for accessibility, security, branding, and privacy requirements, ensuring seamless alignment with the university’s goals and expectations and a positive experience for all people visiting Stanford’s websites.
By combining our insider perspective with a commitment to innovation, we bring bold ideas to life. And because we’re part of Stanford, we’re not just a temporary partner—we’re here to support your evolving web and product needs for years to come.
Additional resources
- Questions? Submit a Help request to the SWS team.
- Visit the Stanford Web Services homepage to learn more about SWS and request a free consultation with the UX design team.
