What Makes a Good School Website
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A school website’s main function is to reassure parents and the wider community that a school is functioning correctly and to publish the required statutory information to comply with legislation. Much of a school’s communication can now be conducted via its website.
Clear Navigation From the Start
The things that we have found to be key to a school website are: parents visiting a school website are looking for specific pieces of information – such as term dates, the school’s admissions policy and contact details. This must be readily available from the start of the website, ideally within one or two clicks from the home page. If parents have to search for information then the website is failing them.
Statutory Content and Compliance
Schools in England have a legal duty to publish certain information online. Check your school website against what a maintained school must publish online and use this as the bare minimum. Any missing information could be picked up by Ofsted as a concern.
Mobile-Friendly for Busy Parents
This will be how most parents visit your school website – on the move, on their phone, and in a hurry. Therefore it’s really important that your school website works well on smaller screens and that it is easy to read with clear, large text and adequately sized buttons and hyperlinks. It’s a good idea to test your school website on your own phone before sending the link to anyone else.
Fresh News and Events
An outdated news section on a school website can give the wrong impression of a school that has slowed down. School websites work best when there is a stream of latest news, all written in short form and published on a regular basis. This could be news of trips, of achievements by students and of forthcoming events. Even one update a month is better than nothing, published on a news section of the website that is easily found.
A Consistent Visual Identity
Use fonts, colours and images on your school website that are consistent and relevant to your school. A clear and simple design that is not cluttered is essential to giving a confident and caring impression. For Websites for schools, visit https://www.fsedesign.co.uk/websites-for-schools.
A good school website wins trust before you pick up the phone.
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