5 Reasons Why Good School Website Design Matters
Mahfuz Mohammad Lutful Yazdani
Website Expert & eCommerce Growth Strategist | 12+ Years in Web Development | 2500+ Websites Built | $100M+ Revenue Generated for Clients | Amazon Growth Specialist Driving +350% Sales with Killer Thumbnails & A+ Content
Have you ever been in a situation where you left a restaurant simply because of the fact that you couldn’t understand the menu or didn’t like how the items on the menu looked? The same can be said about websites. Whether you are a freelancer, running a business, or an online shopping site—your website is the digital banner that represents you. Just like in a restaurant, if your website is poorly designed or visitors can’t find the information they need, they may leave without giving it a second thought.
The same rule applies to schools or any educational facility, except that the stakes are much higher, and you aren’t just losing potential students. In the digital era, a well-designed website has become crucial for schools to establish their online presence and convey important information to students, parents, and the community.?
More and more schools are becoming aware of the benefits of a good school website design and are pragmatically overhauling their current websites or developing new websites from scratch.?
Here are 5 reasons why good school website design matters:
1. It creates the best first impression
You probably keep hearing this age-old expression—the first impression matters—and we can confidently say this is relevant to schools. Your school may have the best facilities, high-performing students, award-winning programs, competent teachers, and management, but if your school website is outdated and people complain they can’t find the information they need, your school’s credibility will take a hit.?
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A school’s website is the initial point of communication for prospective students and parents.? If you want to promote the positive aspects of your school and attract more students and the best teachers and educators, you must pay attention to your school website design. A thoughtful and functional school website design can effectively highlight your school's mission, values, facilities, and achievements.
2. It meets public expectations
Schools and educational institutions are public facilities, and it's only natural that the public has certain expectations when it comes to their websites. In this digital age, the public’s expectations of a school’s website have evolved. For instance, people want school websites to have a visually appealing design and easy-to-find critical information such as school programs, fees, staff directories, teacher information, important announcements, etc. Additionally, students, parents, and staff want school websites to be mobile-friendly, allowing them to have a desktop-like experience accessing the website on their phones.?
A good school website design can deliver on these expectations by providing a clean and professional? layout, user-friendly navigation, faster loading times, mobile-friendly smooth scrolling, and useful content. A poorly designed school website not only frustrated students and parents, it creates a negative? perceptions of the school, which ultimately harms the school’s reputation and credibility.?
3. It improves communication and trust
We already mentioned your school’s website is the first place students and parents go to look for information. Back in the day, visitors, parents and students used to visit the schools physically and talk with the teachers and staff directly. But things are different now. Students and parents now rely on the school’s online presence such as websites and social media to find information and communicate.?
A good and functional school website design encourages the likelihood of students and parents to communicate and interact with teachers and staff. Web designers are now integrating advanced communication tools like online forms, email newsletters, social media integration, and multimedia content such as photos, videos, and podcasts to allow students, parents, and staff? to communicate more effectively.
These elements make students, parents, and visitors form a positive opinion about the school, which is vital in building trust. If your school website is outdated or the information isn’t updated regularly, it sends a message that the school doesn’t care what the public thinks about it. Think of it this way—why would you trust a car salesman if he can’t show the cars he advertised on his website or you can’t find information about the cars he sells on his website??
4. It enhances your school’s brand
In today’s hyper-competitive environment, succeeding in anything is difficult unless you have a robust marketing or branding strategy. Schools are no exception. Your website is one of the best mediums for promoting your school’s brand. Keep in mind that your school’s website is more than just a place to post events and updates.?
Instead think of it as an extension of your school’s mission, values, culture, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Remember, your website isn’t just for students and parents—it’s for the teachers, staff, prospective students, and the community it operates. If you want your school to succeed and stand out from the rest, especially when it comes to attracting the best teachers and students and decision-making, you need to build engagement and foster partnerships with all these stakeholders. A well-designed website will not only help you build strong connections with your community but will also reinforce your school’s reputation.?
5. It should provide accurate, up-to-date information
Well-designed websites provide accurate and the update information to their visitors. Schools should do this too. Whenever any student or parents visits a school website, they should be able to find the information easily and quickly such as orientation dates, teacher directories,? class schedules, enrollment status, school policies, school events, student achievements, and more.?
In addition, school websites should provide forms and pages that allow students to register and enroll online. Furthermore, a good school website design should have dedicated resources sections for students such as study guides, homework assignments, downloadable lessons, and etc.?
Trust Starlit Devs for your responsive school website designs
Are you a school administrator looking for school website design services? Look no further than Starlit Devs .?
With our expertise in User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design, as well as web development, we can assure you to provide a school website design that is not only well-designed and functional, but will help you communicate your school’s mission and share its story to your audience.?
Visit our website to explore how we can elevate your school website design experience.