POWERING EDUCATION
AT SCALE

Name: PSU Case Study
Brand: IWD Agency
SKU: Magento Development Services
Rating: 4.87 (32 reviews)

Penn State Extension is more than just an online learning platform - it’s a lifeline of knowledge for educators, farmers, businesses, and communities across Pennsylvania and beyond. With cutting-edge research, practical education, and real-world application, the platform needed a digital foundation as forward-thinking as its mission. We’ve spent eight years partnering with Penn State to ensure their technology, user experience, and strategy align with their ambitious vision.

BUILT ON

Brands

From Lagging to Leading

The old Penn State site was slowing things down - literally. Performance issues, outdated infrastructure, and a fragmented user experience made it difficult for student users to find resources, register for courses, and engage with content. As digital education offerings grew, the platform struggled to keep up, making it clear that a future-proof, scalable university eCommerce solution was critical.

After thorough evaluation, we migrated Penn State to Adobe Commerce, giving them an enterprise-level foundation with the flexibility to scale. The move provided faster load times, improved security, and seamless integrations, ensuring Extension’s educational resources are always accessible - whether users are registering for an online course or searching for the latest agricultural insights.

“Their ability to implement solid technical solutions, attention to quality assurance, and top-notch client support, are why we keep partnering with IWD Agency.”

Kate Oyler

Web Strategy & Operations, PSU Extension

An Enrollment Experience That Works

From individual student enrollments to group course registration, we refined the checkout and enrollment process to be seamless, intuitive, and frustration-free.

With improved address validation, error messaging, and backend automation, we ensured that more learners could register with fewer roadblocks. Our higher education eCommerce enhancements also included secure eCommerce for higher ed, integrating Authorize.net, PayPal, and other payment gateways to facilitate smooth, secure transactions.

Find the Right Course, Instantly

With thousands of educational resources, finding the right one used to be a challenge. We introduced advanced search and navigation features, allowing users to filter by category, keyword, and education format. The result? Faster discovery, more engagement, and higher enrollment rates.

Content That Works for Everyone

We redesigned Extension’s homepage, menus, and article layouts to be more engaging, mobile-friendly, and visually compelling. Our higher ed website optimization ensured that critical educational content is easier to access, read, and interact with - whether on desktop or mobile.

Stronger Integrations, Smoother Workflows

We connected Adobe Commerce custom integrations with Salesforce, edX, and payment gateways to create a seamless ecosystem for managing student enrollment, event registrations, and digital product sales.

By leveraging multi-site management for universities, we ensured that Penn State Extension’s digital ecosystem could grow without limitations, supporting future expansion and additional Penn State initiatives.