Goodbye KnowHope, hello inHope

Yearlong redesign of new website officially launched Monday

As many students now know, Hope has decided to leave KnowHope behind and create something a little different called inHope. The new website, in.hope.edu, became the new official website for students, staff and faculty on Monday. It includes many new features that make it easier to access and more presentable than KnowHope.

MOBILE FRIENDLY INHOPE- One of the best new features of inHope is the accessibility on all devices.

There are several highlighted features. First, the interaction with other forms of social media was added in hopes of creating a stronger relationship between the students and faculty.
With so many people on social media, connecting with each other this way may allow them to be more involved in the Hope community simply by seeing these posts. People can even check out some blog posts by faculty members or new surveys!

Secondly, I think we can all agree it is frustrating when we try to pull a link up on something like our mobile devices only for an error to occur. Sometimes using a mobile device is quicker and easier to do when you have no access to a computer. So, making this website mobile friendly is a fantastic way to get an even larger portion of the students using this website.
Thirdly, developers included a new method of organization. On KnowHope, everything was mashed together into one giant list. It was difficult to read and made students disinterested in reading about the events on or around campus each day.

The new website has filters that allow people to search the areas they are interested in such as academics, arts, athletics and campus life. Clicking on the different filters minimizes the number of things you’re seeing at once, making the interface less cluttered. Narrowing down searches and allowing students to choose what topics they want to view is a good way to hold the attention of students.

Lastly, inHope has a specific layout that makes it easier to read and interact. I think we can all agree that KnowHope wasn’t exactly easy on the eyes. It had boring fonts, plain colors and no pictures. Introducting InHope as the main website and making it visibly appealing was a smart tactic to gain the interest of more students and faculty.
Another plus to getting rid of KnowHope is no longer having that awkward play on words as a website title. Pronouncing “KnowHope” sounds a lot like “No Hope.” This isn’t exactly encouraging students to check their grades with a tile that sounds hopeless. InHope sounds more welcoming and encouraging for students to use everyday.

We know the creators were very excited to share the new site with everyone. Jason Cash emailed the Hope community sharing his excitement for the launch of the new site. He, along with the rest the creators, are looking for some feedback, so shoot them an email at inhope@hope.edu and let them know what you think!

Hope is in the process of going through several new and amazing changes. With the new Jack Miller music hall, the building of the Bultman Center and now a change in websites shows that Hope is changing for the better. Several other Hope websites were updated to be more efficient for student use. These include the Anchor website and the Van Wylen Library website. I, along with the rest of the students, am excited to see how else Hope will advance.

Whether it be technological, architectural, spiritual or any other way, these changes are exciting!