Efficiency and Sustainability in Online Education: An Evaluation of LMS Platforms and University Websites in Northern Cyprus

The purpose of this study is to thoroughly examine the technical competencies of university websites in Northern Cyprus, as well as the contributions of Learning Management System (LMS) platforms integrated with these websites to user experience, with a focus on efficiency and sustainability in online education. This study adopts a “mixed-method” research model, which combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods for data collection and analysis, with the results being evaluated together. The participants of the research consist of the websites of universities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the IT department managers who will be consulted for their opinions on these websites. A total of 15 university websites were analyzed within the scope of the study, and interviews were conducted with the IT managers of these universities. During this process, analysis tools such as SimilarWeb, Alexa, Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush were utilized. For qualitative analysis, a semi-structured interview method was chosen to gather the views of IT managers on the websites. The findings emphasize the need for universities to optimize their digital strategies. Differences in website performance directly affect the strength of universities’ digital presence, while technological infrastructure, user experience, and the integration of educational tools emerge as key factors in improving this performance. Based on the results of this study, some universal solutions are proposed to optimize the digital strategies of universities in Cyprus.