EPTI – Translation school learning solution
The request
EPTI asked our agency Contraste to turn their website into an online learning platform in order to look professional to both students and target audience.
Context
EPTI is a Translation school founded more than 30 years ago. Up until 2020, their classes had been in person, teaching roughly a hundred students per year. With the sudden need for an online way to continue teaching, its director Anita Gamez quickly found a solution for the year that had already begun. Due to the successful transition, it was made clear that not only the school could function entirely online, but that it probably would need to.
Identifying the problem
After a series of questions (how are you teaching your classes currently? what about it do you like? what don’t you like?) it became clear there were separate needs to meet:
- Their current platform (Google Classrooms) works, but looks unprofessional and lacks a centralized hub for students to access.
- The website does not provide a way to find current courses or programs.
- The website does not generate new leads.
The solution
A series of systems were presented with varying degrees of integration, functionality and price, such as Canvas, Learnpress, Edmodo, and Google Classroom with aesthetic modifications.
After a series of tests it was ultimately decided to continue using GC for the functionality it provided, reduced deploy time, and gentler learning curve for instructors. The website was then updated with the current programs and a visible way to access each class.
The website was also redesigned to direct visitors to the entrance exam as the main objective, and its pages rewritten and reworked.
Leads: User input
To improve the generation of leads, translators were asked what aspects they considered important when choosing a school, and the Courses page was redesigned accordingly: The most important programs (Translator and Interpreter) are shown first, with the extensive fact sheet in an accordion format to facilitate viewing the rest of available programs and courses. Other courses were listed at the bottom in tabs, which allows visitors to know what courses are offered at a glance, and access the details of the ones they’re interested in.
Lessons learned
As web designers we are drawn to find the latest tool, the best, newest solution to the problems users need solving, but oftentimes the best tool is the one that’s already in use, the optimal route and the path of least resistance can be the same. It is important to keep that in mind, but above all, to listen to users and provide what they need, not what we want to give.