Via TRMAug 27, 20265 min read

Study Abroad Program Page: The Annual Refresh Checklist

4:14

Your Program Page is a First Date. Most Offices Are Showing Up in Last Year's Clothes

A new academic year means a fresh crop of students browsing your programs for the very first time. 📸

Nearly 80% of incoming college students say they want to study abroad. Almost none of them will ask you about it first. They'll find your study abroad program page, decide how they feel, and either lean in or quietly move on.

Here's the uncomfortable part. For most of them, that page is your office. It's the first impression, the pitch, and the deciding factor, all before anyone talks to a human.

So when the page is running last year's photos, last year's testimonials, and a description nobody's touched in three years, you're not just looking dated. You're losing students who would have said yes. 🩷

Here's what a page that actually converts gets right.

📸 Lead with program photos that make students picture themselves there

The photo is the hook. Before a single word gets read, an image either pulls a student in or it doesn't. Lead with your single strongest shot, keep it recent, and make sure real students can see themselves in it. One small thing almost everyone skips: add alt text to every image so students using a screen reader get the full experience too. Accessibility is not optional, it's just better.

✏️ Rewrite the words like a human will actually read them

You need two layers. A short, punchy pitch that hooks someone in five seconds, and a deeper description for the student who's already leaning in and wants the real details. Revisit both every single year. Language gets stale faster than you think, and "this year's students" don't talk like last year's.

💬 Let last year's students do the selling

Nothing you write about your program is as persuasive as one honest sentence from someone who just got back.

Think about who those people are. They're the same students you met at the orientation table twelve months ago, when all they had was curiosity. Now they have a story.

A fresh quote from the most recent cohort is the cheapest persuasion on the page, and it costs you nothing but the ask. Swap in new ones every year while the memories are still vivid.

✅ Answer eligibility, cost, and deadline questions before they have to ask

The fastest way to lose a ready student is to make them hunt.

What's included? What's it cost? Am I even eligible? What do I download to get started? Spell all of it out, right on the page.

Every question you answer up front is a reason they don't bounce, and a reason your inbox stays quieter.

✨ Here's where Via Global makes the program page refresh almost effortless

You could do all of this by hand, page by page, every August. Or your program pages could be built so the refresh takes an afternoon instead of a week.

If your office runs on Via Global, here's the full brochure glow-up. And if you're not on Via yet, read the list below as the spec sheet. This is what "an afternoon instead of a week" actually requires.

Every item below is one screen and a save button. None of it needs a ticket.

Refresh your cover carousel with up to 10 images, pull from Unsplash or upload your own, reorder so your best shot leads, and add alt text in the same flow. 📸
Update your program pitch and full description so this year's messaging is current. ✏️
Drop in up to three fresh testimonials from last year's cohort. 💬
Add a "what's new this year" custom section for new scholarships, updated advising hours, whatever's changed. Then push it across multiple programs in one batch instead of one by one. Twelve programs, one edit. 📝
Update your included items, eligibility, and downloadable docs so applicants stop emailing you to ask. ✅
Rename your brochure tabs to match how your office actually talks. Set it once, and every program you duplicate after this inherits it. 🏷️

💬 Already on Via Global? The full brochure-refresh checklist is waiting in Via Sparks, our partner community.

Your programs haven't changed much since last year. The way you present them should. 💚

Want to see how fast a brochure refresh can be? Start the conversation.

Questions we get about program page refreshes

How often should we update our study abroad program pages?

Once a year, before the fall browsing season starts. Photos, program descriptions, testimonials, and eligibility details all age at roughly the same rate, so refreshing them together in August or early September means new students never see last year's page.

What should a study abroad program page include?

At minimum: a recent lead photo with alt text, a short pitch of two or three sentences, a fuller program description, at least one testimonial from the most recent cohort, what's included in the cost, eligibility requirements, application deadlines, and any documents an applicant needs to download.

Do program page photos actually affect applications?

The photo is the first thing a prospective student processes, before any text. A recent image showing students who resemble the person browsing does more early persuasive work than the description underneath it. Stock imagery and landmark shots without people in them tend to read as generic.

Why does alt text matter on study abroad program pages?

Two reasons. It's required for students using screen readers, and the W3C notes that text alternatives also improve search visibility. So the accessible version of your page is also the more findable one.

How many student testimonials should a study abroad program page have? One strong, recent, specific quote outperforms several vague older ones. Refresh them annually while returning students still remember the details, and ask for the quote within a few weeks of their return.

What's the difference between a program pitch and a program description?

The pitch is the short hook, two or three sentences, written for a student deciding in five seconds whether to keep reading. The description is the longer detail section for a student who has already decided they're interested and now wants specifics on coursework, housing, and cost.

Can we update multiple study abroad program pages at once?

In Via Global, yes. A custom section such as "what's new this year" can be created once and pushed across multiple program brochures in a single batch, rather than edited program by program.

When is the best time of year to refresh program pages? Late summer, before fall orientation. That's when the largest group of first-time browsers arrives, and it's the only point in the year when a single refresh reaches an entire incoming class before they form an impression.

Via TRM