Examining Trends and Effectiveness of Academic Institutions’ Website Content

Abstract

This research aimed to examine the trends in and effectiveness of website content on the websites of selected Ethiopian academic institutions. The data was gathered through content analysis and questionnaire and analysed through descriptive statistics (mean), One-Way ANOVA, and narration. The results confirmed that academic and research content were the strongest content categories compared to the other issues covered on the selected websites; and that program and office related content were the weakest (μ = 0.125). According to the data, Addis Ababa, Hawassa, Bahir Dar and Harmaya universities respectively had better content management trends than the other universities. The data also demonstrated that there were significant statistical differences among the website content offered by different universities. Poor navigation systems, inadequate content, empty menus and sub-menus, inconsistent branding, spelling and grammatical errors, as well as untargeted content were some of the observed limitations of the selected website content. Moreover, the data confirmed that the majority of universities updated their websites infrequently. Thus, the study recommends that universities manage their websites well in order to enhance their visibility and reputation.