Nahom Derese

Emerald International College

20+

CMS-driven pages

~70%

Faster content updates for the staff

Modern, fast SvelteKit + Strapi website built end-to-end for Emerald College with a scalable, CMS-driven content system.

https://res.cloudinary.com/dcfvq2u77/image/upload/v1764250127/medium_Screenshot_2024_11_13_070415_front_f2c23b9a41_46d2b6d866.png

Content Sections

Overview
Research & Development
Pain Points
Insights from Users
Key Features
Challenges
Results from First Iteration
Lesson learned
Future Improvements

Overview

Emerald College needed a modern, functional, and fast website to represent the institution, handle program information, and improve how prospective students interact with the school online. The goal was simple: create a clean, reliable digital presence that’s easy to navigate, easy to maintain, and easy for the college to scale as they grow.

I handled the entire project end-to-end, UI/UX design in Figma, full frontend development using SvelteKit + Tailwind, and backend configuration through Strapi as a headless CMS. The final result is a fully responsive, fast-loading website with dynamic content the college team can update without technical support.

Research & Development

I began by evaluating the college’s digital footprint, which was almost nonexistent, and comparing it with competing institutions in Ethiopia. This made the priorities clear and set the direction for a focused, practical redesign.

PROJECT PRIORITIES

Clear, accessible visibility of all academic programs
Simple, intuitive navigation for parents and prospective students
A CMS workflow that non-technical staff could manage without friction
Fast, lightweight pages optimized for low-bandwidth environments

Pain Points

Before the overhaul, the college struggled with major gaps in its digital presence. The lack of reliable information, poor mobile support, and no update workflow held back both communication and credibility. These issues guided the shift toward a streamlined frontend, a solid CMS, and content-focused design decisions.

PRE-REDESIGN CHALLENGES

No unified or dependable website for students and visitors
Outdated, incomplete, or inconsistent information across pages
No CMS in place, making updates slow or unmanageable
Weak search visibility and no mobile optimization
Ineffective presentation of programs, admissions steps, and campus identity

Insights from Users

Conversations with both staff and students revealed clear patterns in how the site was used and what people needed from it. Their feedback shaped the direction of the redesign, pushing toward a responsive, minimal, content-first approach.

KEY INSIGHTS FROM USERS

Administrators needed a straightforward, safe way to update content
Students primarily used mobile devices, making speed and layout clarity essential
Prospective students prioritized program info, tuition transparency, and easy contact options

Key Features

Fully responsive SvelteKit frontend with fast load times

Tailwind-powered design system based on the Figma UI

Strapi headless CMS for dynamic content and easy updates

Modular pages for programs, admissions, and campus information

SEO-optimized structure to improve discoverability

Reusable components for long-term scalability

Secure API integration between SvelteKit and Strapi

Challenges

The main challenges included structuring a CMS for staff to update content without confusion, creating a design that balanced academic tone with modern UI, ensuring high performance for low-bandwidth regions, keeping backend and frontend fully decoupled yet frictionless, and maintaining design consistency across 20+ dynamic content modules.

Results from First Iteration

The end result is a fast, maintainable, production-ready website that finally gives the college a solid digital presence. It performs well, is easy for staff to manage, and meets the needs of students and parents alike.

RESULTS

Roughly 40% faster load times than comparable local college sites
Fully CMS-powered content, reducing reliance on developers
Mobile-first layout optimized for the majority of visitors
Structured SEO that boosts overall visibility and search ranking
A clean, credible digital identity aligned with the college’s goals

Lesson learned

I learned that non-technical editors need a strict CMS structure with guardrails to update content confidently. Minimal UI works best for information-heavy academic platforms, prioritizing clarity over flair. Decoupling frontend and CMS early avoids major rework later. Performance trumps visual flash for educational sites, especially in low-bandwidth areas. Clear content organization directly boosts user navigation and engagement.

Future Improvements

Next steps focus on expanding functionality and giving the college more control and insight. These improvements aim to strengthen usability, outreach, and overall digital efficiency.

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

Add application submission workflows directly into the site
Implement multi-language support to reach a wider audience
Expand SEO with program-level schema markup
Introduce analytics dashboards for staff to track engagement
Add a faculty directory and dedicated student portal sections