BestColleges.com is the flagship website in Higher Education’s portfolio of industry-leading enrollment service websites for online education, generating roughly $18M in annual revenue.

The goal was to redefine the BestColleges.com user experience and visual branding to position it as the go-to authority for college rankings, guidance, and decision-making.

A full UX audit uncovered fragmented systems, which were streamlined into a unified design framework and presented to leadership, securing buy-in and budget to perform the refresh. Two core personas were also identified & developed: EDUs (Marketers, Academics, Administrators) and Students (Climbers, Switchers, Explorers).

This groundwork informed a refreshed design system, brand voice, and monetization strategy that improved usability while building trust with students, families, and universities. The relaunch produced measurable impact: a 50/50 traffic test projected a $2M lift in annual revenue, while a newly introduced search filter drove more form submissions and an additional $1.25M in yearly gains.