School website revamp
Schools on our 3 year full support plans not only get a website when they join but also get a new website refresh upon renewal of the contract. From experience we have found this (3 years) is a great time to revisit the build of the website, making sure that it stays in line with the current technology and trends.
New Video and photography
School photos are important to keep up to date. Schools constantly upgrade their grounds, facilities, uniforms and students – so you want the images on your website to reflect this to give an accurate representation of the school.
School tours by the students is a fantastic way to not only showcase the school but to have the students involved. On the day of the shoot, students will lead our photographers around the school. The students would create the script and would often improvise on the spot – creating a very organic and natural story about the school. This gives it a more authentic feel, that resonates with potential new students and their parents as they watch it together.
Website upgrades
When revamping the website, it’s a great chance to add some additional functions and features.
Here’s a few examples of the changes that we made to help improve the new Athelstone Schools website:
- Added a Blog
Blogs are a great way to connect with your community with short updates about recent news, events, school closures, new policies, etc. The school can easily maintain the blog and create the posts themselves. You can give posts categories (like School Events) that will appear in the feed on the Calendar page. The post can be delegated to different classes/teachers helping share the load and allowing others to be involved – providing a diverse perspective of the school. - Used icons and symbols
This has recently become increasingly popular in modern website design. Older websites sometimes are too ‘text-heavy’ – which is harder for visitors to retain interest. Using images, videos, icons and symbols instead help give a faster message and then visitors can find more information deeper within the website when required. - Removing unnecessary web pages
Our websites use Google Analytics to track website performance, so we can review how often pages are being viewed, and how often links and documents are being clicked on.
TIP: Sometimes it’s better to remove unnecessary information so that the useful information on your website can be more easily found. It also makes it easier to maintain the website.
If you do have useful information that isn’t getting clicked on, perhaps it’s in the wrong location. We recommend reviewing your current website and adjusting the menu and navigation so those pages can be found. With Athelstone, we created a ‘For Families’ dropdown which had all the information that an existing parent would need, such as Uniform Shop, School Canteen, etc. - New Graphics and Design
Graphics and design of a website can age, so letting our team come up with a fresh new look is always exciting for the schools and users.
One you’ve had a look, let us know what you think in the comments below 