The State of Digital Extension 2026: can people find and sign up for Extension programs online?
We audited the public websites of land-grant Cooperative Extension services against the same 498 checks, from finding an event on the homepage to reaching the payment screen. This is a preview of our in-depth study, free to read with no form.
Findings reflect the Extension services audited for this edition and will be updated as the study expands.
- 707Open Extension programs sampled for the study
- 8Areas of the customer journey checked
- 50,135Observations recorded across every site
- 498Checks applied to every institution
Extension has the programs. The problem is getting people to them.
Across the cohort, the hardest part of the customer journey was rarely the program itself. It was finding the event, working out how to register, and getting through a chain of separate tools to pay.
- 40%01
Four in ten Extension services had an events catalog our crawler could not find.
Our crawler found the events catalog on its own at 26 of the 43 institutions we attempted. Eleven more needed a researcher to locate it, and six are still unresolved. The eleven we found by hand all run substantial programming. The gap is findability, not supply.
- 81%02
Registration usually leaves the Extension website.
In 25 of the 31 registration journeys we could follow, the click to register sent people to another domain. Across every journey we followed, we counted 22 different third-party registration, ticketing and payment tools.
- 35%03
One in three program pages had no way to sign up on the page.
On 29 of the 84 program pages we sampled, the page described the program but offered no register button or registration link. People had to work out the next step themselves.
- 33%04
One in three open programs charges a fee.
232 of the 707 open, dated offerings we sampled were paid. Extension runs real commerce, often on tools that were never built for it.
- 8 checkouts05
Payment options vary widely from one checkout to the next.
In the 8 checkouts where we could see the payment options, every one took cards, three offered PayPal and two offered Apple Pay or Google Pay. Some required an account before payment, while others let a first-time visitor check out as a guest.
- Trust06
People trust Extension once they know what it is.
In public conversations people recommend Extension because it is local, science-based, expert-led and not trying to sell them something. The same threads show people needing someone else to explain what Extension does or where their office is. The challenge is awareness, not credibility.
- AI07
AI should route people to experts, not replace them.
Skepticism shows up wherever AI is presented as a substitute for a Master Gardener or an agent. Extension's advantage is what generic AI lacks: local context, institutional credibility and access to real people. The opportunity is AI that connects someone to the right program, office or expert.
We found eight changes that address these gaps. Let us walk you through them.
This page is a preview of our in-depth study. In a 30-minute meeting we share the eight changes, the deeper insights behind each finding, and what they mean for your Extension service.
No slides and no sales pitch.
Having programs and being findable are two different things.
Where our crawler could not find a catalog, a researcher looked for it the way a member of the public would. In all eleven cases where the researcher found it, the programs had been there all along.
- Found automatically: 26
- Found with a researcher’s help: 11
- Not yet resolved: 6
- Not yet audited: 14
One Extension system often hides a patchwork of separate sites and vendors.
The question that matters is not how many tools Extension uses. It is how much of that complexity the visitor has to work through to sign up.
Step 1
Extension homepage
Events are often below the fold or missing from the main navigation.
Step 2
Events calendar
Frequently a separate system or a university-wide calendar mixed with other units.
Step 3
County or program site
Program details live on a county subdomain or a separate program website.
Step 4
Registration tool
A third-party form, ticketing or scheduling service on its own domain.
Step 5
Payment processor
One more hand-off, sometimes behind a required account.
The 22 third-party tools we found in registration and payment journeys:
- Eventbrite
- Cvent
- Humanitix
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Forms
- Google Forms
- Qualtrics
- Jotform
- Formstack
- FormTitan
- Smartsheet
- Salesforce Sites
- Ideal-Logic
- DonorPerfect
- Acuity Scheduling
- Better Impact
- LibNet
- Leap
- PayConex
- Nelnet
- TouchNet
Payment options ranged from card only to six different methods.
Payment options we saw in the 8 checkouts where the options were visible. These describe the checkouts we reached, not every payment method an institution accepts.
- Credit or debit card8 of 8
- PayPal3 of 8
- Apple Pay or Google Pay2 of 8
- Check or purchase order2 of 8
Apple Pay and Google Pay depend on the visitor’s browser and device, so not seeing them is not proof an institution does not offer them.
People value the experts. They want an easier way to reach them.
We listened to the buzz. Alongside the website audit, we read the public conversation about Extension on Reddit: course reviews, county office experiences, volunteer stories and agent careers. Nine themes came up again and again.
- r/YouShouldKnow
“Make friends with Cooperative Extension!”
What it tells usLoved, but hard to find.
Programs get warm reviews, yet people discover them by phoning around, by word of mouth, or through posts telling strangers that Extension exists at all.
- r/FloridaGarden
“come back in a few years when the class opens up again.”
What it tells usDemand outruns supply.
Popular workshops run once and Master Gardener seats fill, with no waitlist, recording or next date for the people turned away.
- r/lawncare
“Aggie soil test proved me wrong and I was able to fix them.”
What it tells usPeople arrive with a specific problem.
Soil tests, insect ID and plant clinics are the moments of real help. When results arrive without a clear next step, people take them to Reddit instead.
- r/NativePlantGardening
“It’s like any local public resource, it’s highly variable.”
What it tells usTrust is local and personal.
Named agents and volunteers carry the brand. One weak county office can discredit the whole system for the visitor who meets it.
- r/vegetablegardening
“self paced and online entirely”
What it tells usDigital delivery widens access.
Self-paced online courses, free Zoom continuing education and session recordings draw the warmest comments, and virtual options brought younger cohorts in.
- r/vegetablegardening
“People dont respond to emails... so I dropped it.”
What it tells usThe volunteer pipeline leaks after training.
People finish the course, then drop out at the volunteer stage: weekday-only shifts, unanswered emails and no easy way to find or log hours.
- r/hudsonvalley
“is now in very short supply”
What it tells usFunding pressure is said out loud.
Counties now fundraise to replace federal money, which makes paid courses matter more. People pay for quality: a $380 three-day certificate drew no price complaints.
- r/farming
“They are vital resources to me and the growers I work with.”
What it tells usTwo audiences, two levels of awareness.
Growers and ag professionals rely on Extension. Much of the general public cannot say what a land-grant university is.
- r/landscaping
“Tools like these aren’t replacements for experts and advocates.”
What it tells usPeople trust the expert, not the bot.
Where AI is presented as a substitute for a Master Gardener or an agent, the reaction is rejection. The asset people value is human expertise.
Public Reddit conversation collected with Reddit Pro in October 2026. Quotes are short excerpts attributed by community only, with abstract badges in place of profile pictures. This research describes market sentiment and is never used to measure any institution.
See how your Extension service compares.
Thirty minutes with the team that ran the audit. No slides and no sales pitch.
- The eight changes that address the gaps we found, and the deeper insights behind each finding.
- If your institution was audited, a walkthrough of what we found, from finding programs to the payment screen.
- If it has not been audited yet, tell us and we will prioritize it.
- Want your team’s perspective in the next edition? Use the same form and say so.
Book a 30-minute assessment
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We reply within one business day. Prefer email? Write to hi@iwdagency.com.