Enhanced website user experience for Soka University of America

When Soka University of America embarked on their journey with AddSearch, their goal was simple yet crucial. They required information combined from their multiple domains to provide visitors with a search experience aligned effortlessly and intuitively with today’s user expectations.

A successful search starts with a smooth implementation process

Empowering the team

Soka wanted to empower their web team, allowing them to make search adjustments without the need for developer intervention. This was a departure from the previous setup that demanded costly and effort-intensive consultations.

Collaborative implementation

The implementation process unfolded with Soka’s Web Content Strategist, Alexis Tice, armed with mock-ups of their ideal result, collaborating with the AddSearch team.

The implementation team’s expertise allowed them to manifest the vision, sometimes guiding Alexis through client-side changes: “It was a smooth process overall, and the team was very helpful,” according to Alexis.

That partnership resulted in a UI design that blended seamlessly with the site’s overall aesthetic and the university’s visual identity.

AddSearch in action: improved user experience and easy maintenance

Fine-tuning and maintaining search for a tailored experience

AddSearch’s flexibility allowed the digital team to fine-tune results by ‘tweaking the dials’ for a better, more customized results. 

While the team did not feel it necessary to adjust many settings, they were confident in their ability to make the changes they needed. Since integrating AddSearch with their website, Alexis has changed some settings to fit the needs she saw so intuitively that she even forgot she’d made some!

Seamless experience with federated search

As required, AddSearch effortlessly pulled in content from the university’s various domains: the online catalog, the library site, and the WordPress site, achieving a level of integration that the previous solution couldn’t match. 

This, according to Martin Beck, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications at Soka, was one of the key features that drew them to AddSearch.

Better search results with Promotions and Pinned Search Results

The team’s customization of the search resulted in creative ways of meeting the university’s unique needs. For example, the Promotions feature was used to guide prospective students to select concentrations rather than majors at Soka. 

The capacity to sort multiple pinned results strategically also allowed Soka’s team to prioritize important information.

Enhanced visitor experience with simple, yet powerful UX

For Soka, the emphasis has been on ease of use for visitors. With AddSearch, they were able to have a search UX that provides a smooth website experience and helps to find information fast.

For an effortless search experience, Soka implemented two significant UX functionalities:

• Search suggestions to provide a glimpse into available options.
•  Thoughtful categorization into tabs such as ‘Programs’, ‘News’ and ‘Faculty’ that saved time and made relevant information easier to find.

The data from using AddSearch allows for strategic analysis and adjustments, ensuring an even better experience for students and faculty.

Overall, Soka’s partnership with AddSearch has increased autonomy, elevated user experience, and met unique search challenges with innovative solutions.