University website development means designing and engineering large-scale higher education sites that actually work for everyone who uses them: prospective students, current students, faculty, and alumni. Modern university sites need program finders, faculty directories, department subsites, student portals, multi-language support, WCAG accessibility, and admissions funnels. And they need to be built on architecture that won't force you into a $150K rebuild every few years just to keep the lights on.
FAQ
How much does a university website redesign cost?
Community college sites — 25 to 50 pages, a program finder, and forms — run $25–60K. Mid-size university builds with 100–300 pages, faculty directories, and department subsites cost $60–150K. Full-scale projects adding student portals, multi-language support, and virtual tours range from $100–200K. All fixed-fee. No hourly billing surprises.
Why should a university switch from Drupal to Next.js?
Drupal's migration tax hits every 2–3 years. D7 to D8 cost $50–100K. D8 to D9 cost $30–50K. D9 to D10 cost another $30–50K. D10 to D11 arrives late 2026. Add it up and you've spent $140–300K rebuilding the same site over and over. Next.js has no forced migrations — your investment compounds instead of resetting. You also get faster page loads, better SEO, and accessibility that's actually built in.
How does a program finder improve university SEO?
Each program gets its own page targeting queries like "computer science degree [university name]." With 200 programs, that's 200 indexable landing pages, each aimed at specific searches your prospective students are already running. Add Schema.org Course markup and those pages start earning rich snippets in Google — pulling in long-tail enrollment-intent traffic that generic program lists simply can't capture.
Can you integrate with our student information system (SIS)?
Yes. We build SSO connections using SAML, CAS, or Shibboleth to authenticate students against your existing identity provider. The student portal surfaces registration links, grades, financial aid status, and campus services — all secured with Supabase row-level security. Your SIS stays the system of record. We never duplicate it.
How do you handle accessibility compliance for university websites?
We build WCAG 2.1 AA compliance into the architecture from day one — semantic HTML, ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, screen reader optimization, color contrast enforcement, skip links, and focus management. Next.js and Tailwind give us precise control that WordPress and Drupal plugins genuinely can't match. We target Lighthouse scores of 95+ and test with actual assistive technology, not just automated checkers.
How long does a university website build take?
A community college site ships in 10–12 weeks. A mid-size university with a program finder, faculty directory, and department subsites takes 14–18 weeks. Full-scale projects with student portals, multi-language support, and virtual tours run 18–24 weeks. Every project includes a content migration plan — your team won't be copy-pasting 300 pages by hand.
Get Your University Website Assessment
Tell us about your institution. We'll deliver a detailed quote within 48 hours.
Get Your Free Assessment
Let's build
something together.
Whether it's a migration, a new build, or an SEO challenge — the Social Animal team would love to hear from you.