Higher education website designs are important in attracting and engaging modern students.  They assist the universities to create a strong digital presence and effectively carry out their mission. Well-designed websites help the institute continue to deliver a world-class academic experience from drawing new students to encouraging alumni to donate. These sites cater to a diverse audience, i.e., students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

Although, website designing can be a challenging task, especially if you do not know where to start. We have compiled a list of 40 best university websites with signature designs to guide and inspire you. You can explore these samples to take notes of standout website elements. Are you ready to feel inspired? Keep reading, these elements are worth considering to incorporate into your design. 

Common Elements Of Best College Websites

Here are some essential components that every best university website design should have: 

• Simple navigation
• Robust search functionality
• Mobile responsiveness
• Call to actions
• Well-organized content
• Student blog section
• Easy accessibility
• Optimized for search engines

Best University Website Designs

According to a report, 63% of students click on digital ads to learn more about the institute. An appealing website design not only attracts potential students but also provides a positive user experience. The best university website encourages prospects to explore the site and engage with its content. Have a look and discover which university has the best website in our list of 2025. 

1. University of Pennsylvania

Stand Out Feature: Streamlined user navigation
Benjamin Franklin is the founder of the University of Pennsylvania which is considered one of the nine colonial universities. The website of UPenn is a clear reflection of its rich history and reputation. It has straightforward and sophisticated navigation with sleek typography and engaging visuals.  Every page of the site has a consistent brand identity and stunning campus visuals.

2. Alverno College

Standout Feature: Colourful button CTAs
Located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Alverno College is a Catholic college that has provided liberal arts education for more than 130 years. This institute has developed a powerful website to showcase its academics and campus community. The website homepage, with a handful of colorful buttons, encourages visitors to explore all programs. Moreover, the navigation bar on its site makes it easy for users to find the required information.

3. University of Chicago

Standout Feature: Image Slider
Since 1890, the University of Chicago has worked to expand students’ knowledge and enrich human life. The website showcases its ambition through detailed information paired with multiple features. Stunning imagery with text slider highlights its campus life to catch the audience’s attention. Its navigation bar is divided into types of visitors (i.e. students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, visitors). 

4. Princeton University

Standout Feature: Expansive footer
Princeton University is widely recognized as the best higher education institution in the United States, taking pride in world-class excellence across all of its departments. Princeton takes a more simplistic approach to its website design, strong yet minimalist design. The typical “About Us” page, named “Meet Princeton,” has a quick timeline overview of the institution. 

At the bottom of every page, visitors can find an easily accessible footer directing users to important pages like “Advance People Search,” “Academic Calendar,”.

5. Virginia Commonwealth University

Standout Feature: Colorful and well-positioned CTAs
Virginia Commonwealth University was established in 1938 and has a rich history driving the community to be free-thinking, engaged, and ambitious. According to research conducted by Hanover Research, the third-best recruitment tactic is directly calling the students to apply on your college website. The VCU leverages this tactic and features the ‘Apply’ call-to-action with other CTAs like ‘Visit’ and ‘Programs’. The educational institute uses carousels paired with stunning graphics throughout its site to make it visually compelling. 

6. Howard University

Standout Feature: Powerful opening video
Located in Washington, D.C., Howard connects students with the nation’s capital and opens up doors to millions of different opportunities. The university website showcases a welcoming culture to cultivate young minds with diverse features. A video compilation at the top of Howard’s homepage features student activities that immediately grab the attention of its audience. It offers students a self-navigable virtual tour making it easy to learn more about the campus. 

7. Cornell University

Standout Feature: Engaging “Research” page
Located among gorges and natural forests in Ithaca, New York, Cornell University has a reputation to live up to as an Ivy League institution. Cornell has created a visually appealing “Research” page to encapsulate its many discoveries and innovations. The page highlights the latest research stories along with high-quality images and videos. A live view camera on its site shows its beautiful learning environment, where site visitors can catch a glimpse of the central campus. 

8. Georgetown University

Standout Feature: Plenty of background information
Georgetown is an international Catholic and Jesuit research university having 9 schools, an affiliated hospital, and multiple campuses. The visitors can get a feel for campus life, explore education opportunities, learn about the school’s rich history, apply, and so on. The website features impressive statistics, a page devoted to discussing the school’s heritage, and information on the research programs. It provides information to cater to different audiences: distinct tabs for “Students,” “Faculty,” and “Alumni.” 

9. University of Washington

Standout Feature: A well-designed donation page
The University of Washington educates more than 54,000 students each year. UW’s website is well-designed and houses plenty of information relating to its core mission. The donation page is broken into three easy steps: selecting a donation amount, entering contact details, and submitting payment information. If you visit the other pages, you will drawn to the icons that are designed to direct users to important parts of the website.

10. University of Notre Dame

Standout Feature: Strong branding
Located in Indiana, the University of Notre Dame is a prestigious educational institution offering nearly 50 international study programs. The school seeks to enrich Catholic intellectual and cultural traditions and conveys this through its website. It has strict brand guidelines in place to ensure every part of the website matches up to its standards. Notre Dame’s website is beautiful on desktops and interactive elements to look good on mobile devices, since Google uses mobile-responsiveness as a ranking factor. 

11. George Washington University

Standout Feature: An up-to-date interactive map
Located in historic Washington, D.C., George Washington University (GW) educates more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The college website displays passionate faculty and diverse student groups and features several other elements. You can immerse yourself in the campus experience through an intuitive map that’s updated with new images regularly. GW complies with web accessibility guidelines for people with disabilities. 

12. Duke University

Standout Feature: Accessible navigation menu
Duke University is located in the famous Research Triangle in North Carolina. It is home to over 6,000 undergraduate students and 10,000 graduate students. Duke’s site assists visitors with navigation paths so you can easily find what you’re looking for. In addition to this, a well-crafted donation page powers financial aid opportunities for students and allows faculty to tackle new research projects. 

13. University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Standout Feature: White space
Founded in 1869 University of Nebraska–Lincoln is an educational institution of international stature. Their website is a prime example of a powerful yet simple design. The navigation bar guides users about important content and is divided into a handful of categories based on the user type. Other than this, there’s a search tool to help users find any other information. This college website limits copy and visuals to embrace negative space. 

14. Stanford University

Standout Feature: News blog roll on the homepage
Stanford University is a popular institution in liberal arts education, engineering, medicine, law, and other academic disciplines. It is ranked No. 3 by the U.S. News in their list of Best Colleges.  The site has streamlined navigation to different disciplines for all types of students visiting their page to learn more. The blogroll section features leading news stories, research, and college updates. 

15. Duquesne University

Standout Feature: Bold and boxy design with vibrant colors
The institute has a pleasing website that uses a bold, boxy design with vibrant colors like red, white, and blue colors. It is not only beautiful but also functional, offering persona-based navigation with a dropdown at the top. You can find site search with an easily findable search bar on the homepage for quick navigation. In the center of the homepage, the expandable mega menu provides links to all the important web pages. 

16. Ferris State University

Standout Feature: Personalized digital experience
Modern students expect personalized digital engagement from higher education institutes. As per findings of the 2023 E-expectations Trends Report, 12% of students are frustrated by the lack of personalized web content. Ferris University opts for a marketing approach by offering impressive personalization through calls to action based on individual student application statuses. It ensures that site visitors promptly access pertinent information. 

17. Florida A&M University

Standout Feature: Bold and confident design
FAMU’s website showcases the bold and clear branding of the institution. The homepage is so clear that makes FAMU to be recognized as the #1 Public HBCU five times in a row. Moreover, other overwhelming features are bold colors, grand imagery, and crisp text. You can see bold CTAs on the homepage with highlights of brand values, lists of important dates and events, and all the information about academics.  

18. Kennesaw State University

Standout Feature: Persona-based navigation with integrated career pathways
Kennesaw State University has an easily navigable branded website with academic information on its homepage. The site delivers relevant information to specific groups of stakeholders with a persona-based navigation dropdown right on the top right corner. The university does not highlight its programs; instead, it asks students what they want to do or become. The prominent search bar right in the center of the homepage, allows students to navigate the desired courses. 

19. Pepperdine University

Standout Feature: Easy branding and experience across multiple domains
Universities and colleges use multiple domains to serve their numerous department and branch needs. Pepperdine leverages multiple subdomains for each of its school/college’s websites and community as well. Recruitment is the main focus of the school and college domain, while the community caters to its internal audience of faculty, staff, and students. The website encourages visitors to go to its school’s websites, and it does so effectively with multiple CTAs – on the mega menu. 

20. University of Montana

Standout Feature: Personalization and design consistency
The University of Montana does a great job of delivering personalized digital experiences. The main website caters to multiple stakeholders. On the other hand, it has specially designed a website domain to attract prospective students and move them through the application funnel. It displays personalized content and CTAs to guide students through the next steps of their application process. 

21. University of Wyoming

Standout Feature: Integrated course catalog
The University of Wyoming has a vibrant web design. Its features are brand color highlights, maps, and virtual tours to bring the campus to life. The institute integrates its course catalog with the website and provides up-to-date career data on program pages.  The site provides an engaging experience across multiple points of student interaction.  

22. McGill University

Standout Feature: Clean and minimalist homepage
McGill University is a public research university located in Montreal, Canada. It is one of Canada’s top universities. Their website provides a wealth of information about the school, including its history, faculty, student life, and research programs. The site is clean and minimalist, which offers essential content to its users.  Besides this, they use real images and videos throughout their website, with the powerful “Made by McGill Anthem” video. 

23. Loyola University Maryland

Standout Feature: Interactive graphics at the top
Loyola University Maryland is one of the oldest Jesuit institutions in America.  Its website promotes the school’s Catholic values while providing plenty of information and opportunities. They designed the streamlined menu with three CTA buttons—“Visit,” “Apply,” and “Give”—that link to high-demand pages. White space is used effectively to improve readability and enhance visual clarity through interactive graphics for the visitors.

24. Roosevelt University

Standout Feature: Cheap price tags for all students
Roosevelt University is a private education institution with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois.  Their website prioritizes a highly engaging, interactive experience for current and prospective students and alumni.  They migrated to a more user-friendly Drupal instance that offers a convenient single sign-on for all user accounts.  The institute offers a cheaper price tag compared to other private universities, which makes the website more inclusive for students from all financial backgrounds. 

25. The University of Texas at Austin

Standout Feature: High-resolution images and engaging graphics
Located in Austin, Texas, The University of Texas (UT) is a public research university.   The university’s branding and visual identity are evident throughout the site and it has a comprehensive drop-down navigation bar.  They enhanced the overlook feel with high-resolution images and engaging graphics.  The contrast of the orange brand color with the effective use of white space and bold text looks stylish.

26. Adelphi University

Standout Feature: Accessibility form to report concerns
Adelphi University is a private institution that offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a variety of academic disciplines cited on its website.  Individuals with hearing impairments can access the information through transcripts and closed captions available for audiovisual content.  Images are backed by descriptive alternative text, making their site more accessible. The accessibility form on this special education website enables users to report questions or concerns related to individuals with disabilities.

27. University of Iowa

Standout Feature: Keyboard operation without mouse
The University of Iowa (UI) is a public research university having a website that boasts renowned academic programs.  Its functionalities can be operated using a keyboard without requiring a mouse. It helps users with low vision to adjust font size according to their needs without breaking the website’s layout.  Furthermore, sufficient color contrast between text and background enhances readability. 

28. Rice University

Standout Feature: Typical virtual tour
The school is noted for its high level of research as well as its strong academic reputation, with a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio.  The Rice website highlights upcoming events alongside facts about the university. Their site offers a fun twist on the typical virtual tour at Rice University with an unexpected graphic layout. The user can explore information using interactive maps and a search bar to look up the landmarks quickly. 

29. University of Pittsburgh at Bradford

Standout Feature: Video testimonials
Nestled among the Allegheny mountains, The University of Pittsburgh offers 115 academic programs to its 1,500 students.  Their website features a virtual campus tour that uses virtual reality to provide users with a 360-degree experience. It has video testimonials from current students, providing useful insights.  Other than this, they showcase a variety of outdoor activities. 

30. University of British Columbia

Standout Feature: Compressed images and videos
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a top Canadian university with a simple and clean website. They compressed images and videos for faster loading times on mobiles. You will find the legible text on smaller screens without the need to zoom in. Besides this, Pop-ups are limited to not disrupt the mobile browsing experience. 

31. Brown University

Standout Feature: A lot of visuals on the homepage
The university uses a lot of visuals on its website homepage to continue the trend of eye-catching content. When you scroll down the page and move the cursor over images several images change in response. They featured students advising incoming freshmen through vertical videos.  The overall look of Brown University’s website is clean and professional. 

32. Biola University

Standout Feature:  Basic aesthetic appeal
BU is a nationally ranked private Christian university located in Southern California. We can pin down a specific word to describe the look of Biola’s website. It looks clean from the top of the homepage to the arrangement of squares and rectangles across the site. We can say, the design is simple and composed beautifully with basic aesthetic appeal for users. 

33. Keele University 

Standout Feature:  Simple design with bright colors
Located in the Staffordshire countryside and just five miles from Stoke-on-Trent, Keele is a world-renowned institute. They have a website that is designed in a way to attract the user’s attention immediately. The page design is simple, with bright colors to show the university’s enthusiasm and vigor. Combining high-quality photographs and graphics provides a welcoming environment and a smooth browsing experience for the users. 

34. Academy of Art University 

Standout Feature: Hiring students section
With over 900 art & design classes, 22 different schools, and 14 STEM programs, the Academy has an educational path for everyone. Its website’s design is visually appealing, with vibrant colors, rich images, and dynamic animations. The site’s user-friendly interface and well-organized layout make your navigation a breeze, Whether you’re a prospective student or a current enrollee. The site’s “Companies Hiring Our Students” section highlights real-world impact and sheds light on its achievements.  

35. Park University

Standout Feature: Visually appealing interface
Park University offers financial aid, scholarships, grants, and military discounts to make education affordable.  You can get a fluid experience visiting this higher education website, which reflects its commitment to accessible education. The interface is visually appealing with straightforward navigation. The clear CTA buttons ensure accessibility for all its users. 

36. University of Essex

Standout Feature:  Exciting tone with colorful pictures
The website design of Essex University is user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing. They established an exciting tone using colorful pictures and vibrant colors. The site’s homepage is in order with separate pages for different students like prospective students, present students, and alumni. Additionally, the site provides a personal touch by letting you indicate what you want to know. 

37. Johns Hopkins University

Standout Feature: Advanced keyword search engine
You can see the professionalism that the institute showed through its website design. Their design is clean and minimalist making guests quickly access the required information. Moreover, multimedia components like videos and photo galleries are integrated to exhibit the college’s success. There is an advanced keyword search engine that allows quick access to specific aspects of the page.

38. Rhode Island School Of Design 

Standout Feature: Scroll in and easy navigation
You will see the website’s design is plain using white space and large typography. However, if you scroll in, it will create an immense expense. Different visuals are popping in and out of view as you go down on the page. It serves as a testament to the institution’s focus on hands-on learning and experimentation. 

39. Oberlin College and Conservatory 

Standout Feature: Modern interface and signature branding
The website design of Oberlin College and Conservatory is inviting and intuitive. They provide course catalogs and student resources. The university’s state-of-the-art facilities and innovative programs are reflected on the website. Additionally, it has easy-to-access interactive maps and virtual tours. 

40. Ravensbourne University London

Standout Feature: Appealing design and branding
RUL is a digital media and design school located in London’s vibrant Greenwich. Their website is bold, bright, and colorful. They drew the users through various textures, patterns, and visual content. The design is so appealing and delivers the brand promise. It will be one of the best higher education websites online in 2025. 

Wrapping up, the purpose of education websites is to aware, sell, and inform visitors. Explore the above article and create the best website design for your institution.