But whatever the actual numbers, less controversial and more compelling is that literally thousands of new individual and corporate Web sites emerge in cyberspace each day, compared to a total of fewer than 400 sites worldwide in June 1993. Of course, campuses are not the only organizations to develop Web sites that provide information about U.S. colleges and universities. College guide publishers have had alliances with commercial services such as America Online and CompuServe for several years. Surfing campus Web sites reveals tremendous diversity in both content and design. Some sites also include photos of presidents and deans as part of the welcoming message to the institution or to a specific academic program.
Graphics dominate some designs, while outline-based text layouts are common at others.
Concurrent with the growing use of the Web for intracampus communication, as well as for instruction and scholarship, more institutions are recognizing the role of the Web as part of a digital public presence intended for offcampus audiences. Target audiences include prospective students, alumni, news organizations eager to find an academic expert, and potential donors who increasingly view the design and content of the campus Web presence as one indicator of an institution's technological infrastructure and sophistication. Just as e-mail addresses have become increasingly common on business cards, so too is the campus Web address quickly becoming as routine as a phone or fax number on all kinds of institutional documents such as admissions materials, departmental brochures, and alumni newsletters. In fact, planning for an institution's public presence on the Web is an issue of growing concern for many campus officials. Focusing formal plans on off-campus audiences can be explained by two factors.