OVERALL GRADE: C
Products/Services: C
In terms of navigation, the best feature of the About Us page is the
tab labeled “One-click access,” which pops up a well-organized site menu. Great
content is wasted without great navigation. (See our Commandment
7 of About Us pages: Keep Navigation Easy.)
Unfortunately, the content of INSEAD’s About Us pages isn’t
stellar. The main text of the page, in five small, dense paragraphs, needs to
be broken up with headings and bulleted points (degrees offered, campuses,
partnerships). A link to 50 Alumni
Who Changed the World and a more prominent link to Faculty and
Research would be great additions. As it stands, the list of Publications is more
enticing than the main About Us page: it summarizes the programs offered and
has visuals as well.
The events on the timeline demonstrate INSEAD’s
global scope: well done. The 50th-anniversary logo reminds us that this school
has a long, solid reputation. We don’t mind that the anniversary occurred in
2007: it’s great to show pride in your corporate history. However, we mind very
much that once we click on the logo to visit the 50th
anniversary site, we’re stranded, with no links to take us back to the
current pages. Big mistake!
And here’s an even bigger one. Having read all INSEAD’s
About Us pages, we still didn’t know what “INSEAD” means. Is it a foreign name?
An acronym? Wikipedia reveals that the school was originally the Institut
Europeen d’Administration des Affaires (European Institute of
Business Administration).
At CorporateHistory.net, we revel in primary documents, real
or virtual. We do not consider Wikipedia a scholarly resource - but it is a terrific way to find out what
people want to know about you, so you don’t miss obvious points. In the
Wikipedia article on INSEAD, the explanation of the name is in the very first
paragraph.
Accessibility: B
Aside from the standard information, the Contact page (accessible
via a link in the header) offers Quick Links to degrees, faculty, and alumni.
In the lower part of the page, the collapsible list of departments with phones
and emails is an elegant solution to a list that fills several pages when
expanded.
Personality: D
Under Who We Are, the Constituencies
link defaults to bios of the school’s interim deans. Why not the chairman, who
presumably sets the direction of the school? But the chairman’s bio doesn’t
talk about his vision for the school’s current and future goals, either. Nor
does the Mission
statement. Of its five points, only two are directly related to business
education, and nothing here indicates why we’d want a degree from INSEAD rather
than Wharton or Harvard Business School.
TAKEAWAY
Don’t overlook the obvious: check Wikipedia or other outside
sources to see what people want to know about you.
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