A bad website is easy to spot. You visit it and then bounce out from it without spending much time there.
But what goes on in creating a good website? For instance, what makes for a great school website? Is it the design alone or some other stuff that keeps the visitors glued to your site?
The quick answer to this is that there are a lot of factors that need to be taken care of while creating a good school website.
We, as an expert school website designer, have sorted out some great tips using which you can design a great school website. So, read on.
1. Make the Homepage Useful
The homepage will be the page where your visitors will land. So, you must design your homepage to be useful. By useful we mean that visitors must be able to go to the next click without much effort or scrolling. Also, information about the important stuff such as ongoing admission must be readily available on the homepage itself.
Also, you must keep the homepage simple in its design. Trying to cram a lot of information on the page will make it look cluttered and visitors might get confused with all the details.
The most frequently requested features must have quick links so that the user can jump onto them with a single click.
Along with that, the calendar of events must be regularly updated to make sure your visitors get the latest news and are not furnished with stale news. Providing visitors with outdated news and events will only make them bounce back. So, always keep your website updated with fresh news.
Also, your school website must feature relevant images that capture the attention of the visitors. But do not let your header image dominate. Clustering information relevantly must be your focus.
2. Responsive Design
How many times you have come across websites that open on mobile devices but you have to pinch or zoom it to be able to read the information clearly? When this happens, it means the website is not optimized for mobile devices such as cellphones or tablets.
Responsive design means your website is such built that it opens on each and every device and makes the information readable. Incorporating responsive design on your school website will mean they can be readily shared and viewed on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. They can also be sent across emails very easily.
3. ADA Compliance
Create your school website keeping in mind the ADA regulations. Making your website ADA compliant means that it should be accessible for people with disabilities. For people with impaired viewing, your school website must include features such as an audio screen reader to help them navigate through your website.
For people with disabilities with hearing, the videos that you include should have features such as subtitles that they can read and thus follow easily.
4. Navigation must be Well Organized
A key aspect of the usability of a school website is its navigation. The navigation keys must be visible clearly and users must be able to go to the page they want without any difficulty. A good thumb rule is to organize navigation and sub-navigation with 7 links. Studies show when a visitor has seven or fewer links to choose from, they are more likely to make a decision.
5. Popular Pages
The popular pages on your site must be easy to visit with a few clicks. Popular pages include a Calendar, which must contain accurate and updated information and must be easy to use.
Next comes the Contact Directory which also must be readily accessible. Meaning, your visitors must be able to contact you readily.
The individual school pages must also be readily accessible so that parents and students face no issue in getting to their school pages. To make this happen, you need some intuitive and organized navigation on your school website.
Designing a good school website comes with following some designing rules. The tips mentioned here will help you create a great school website. However, if you find that the process is getting complicated, you can choose to work with an expert school website designer like us.