Having a well-designed school website provides a surprising number of benefits beyond just an online presence.

Let’s explore the top 5 Benefits of Creating a School Website

1. Attract Prospective Students and Parents More Easily

A well-crafted school website helps attract prospective families during the research process by making the right first impression quickly. According to one survey, 94% of parents referred to school websites when evaluating options for their children.

Devoting sections of your site to key details like academic programs, enrollment information, achievements, and facilities can get families excited to learn more. An appealing, mobile-friendly design also draws more visitors in. Tools like virtual tours, photos, and videos give a taste of campus life.

2. Keep the Entire School Community Informed

Your school’s website enables real-time communication with current parents, students, faculty, alumni, and other stakeholders.

Share school news, event updates, closures, policy changes, and PTA happenings via news feeds, email newsletters, calendars, and other resources. This keeps the community engaged and informed 24/7.

For example, automatically sync events from the school calendar to parents’ phones or allow teachers to post class updates to a password-protected portal.

3. Expand Your Reach and Visibility

Having an optimized website expands your visibility and provides invaluable 24/7 exposure to prospective families.

Be sure to incorporate relevant keywords, location information, and semantic search terms throughout your site’s content. This helps parents readily find and learn about your school when searching online.

Local SEO best practices like correct NAP listings or schema markup also help search engines understand your school’s information. Consider investing in paid search ads to further increase visibility for key terms.

4. Establish Your Brand and Credibility

An official school website lends legitimacy and helps establish your unique brand identity online. Include details like:

History and heritage
Stats and figures like graduation rates, awards, rankings, etc.
Testimonials from alumni, parents, and staff

Prominently displaying achievements and community involvement helps showcase the quality of education you provide. This heightens trust and perception when parents are evaluating schools.

For example, this page from Phillips Exeter Academy effectively highlights credentials like accolades and their mission.

5. Leverage Digital Marketing and Promotions

A website opens the door for cost-effective digital marketing techniques to further extend your school’s reach and promote programs.

Search engine optimization
Pay-per-click ads
Retargeting campaigns
Social media marketing
Email nurturing workflows

These online channels provide very targeted promotion opportunities at a fraction of the cost of traditional print, radio, and TV advertising.

The Benefits of Creating a School Website is enormous

Given the growing necessity of digital presence, every school should prioritize having a website designed to engage audiences while serving key functions. Staying on top of current design trends, user experience best practices, and search optimization will help your site yield valuable results.

With robust web hosting and a content management system like WordPress or Joomla, creating an impactful website is more affordable than ever. The investment pays dividends across recruitment, communication, marketing, and more.

If you have questions or any point you’d like to add, please leave your comments below.