Your school’s website is one of your most valuable marketing tools. It’s the first place prospective students, parents, and other community members go to learn about your school. That’s why it’s important to ensure your website is up-to-date and reflects your school’s brand. If your site is janky, out-of-date, or just not working well, it could be turning people away. When you re-do your school’s website design, it can make a tremendous difference in all ways.
Here are seven signs that it might be time for a school website redesign:
#1: Your Website Looks Outdated
If your school website looks like it was designed in the early 2000s, it’s probably time for an update. Websites should be designed with mobile users in mind and should be responsive to different screen sizes. They should also be easy to navigate, with clear calls to action guiding users to where you want them to go. You should also prefer to have a dedicated mobile app.
#2: You’re Getting Complaints About Your Website
When you start getting constant complaints from parents, students, or other community members about your website, you need to look into why. Maybe the site is hard to navigate, or perhaps it’s not mobile-friendly. Whatever the case may be, if people are complaining, it’s time to make some changes.
#3: The School Website Isn’t Generating Leads
Your website should be one of your best tools for generating leads. If it’s not, that’s a sign that something is wrong. Maybe you’re not driving enough traffic to the site, or maybe the site itself isn’t designed to convert visitors into leads. Either way, you need to figure out the problem and fix it.
#4: The Website Isn’t Secure
Website security is of the utmost importance. Not only could it turn away potential students and parents, but it could also put your school at risk for a data breach. If your website isn’t secure, it’s time to take action. You will need to run some tests if necessary or even hire an outside company to help you.
#5: You’re Not Getting Any Traffic
A lack of traffic is a sign that something is wrong. Maybe your site isn’t properly promoted, or it’s not ranking well in search engines. Run a report or ask your web team to help you figure out where the problem lies so you can fix it.
#6: Loading Issues
Slow loading times are a significant turnoff for website visitors. If your site takes more than a few seconds to load, people will likely click away. Not only that, but slow loading times can also negatively impact your search engine ranking. If your site is loading slowly you need to go through your website and see what the problem may be.
#7: It’s Not Optimized for SEO
Your school website must be optimized for SEO. If it’s not, you’re missing out on a lot of potential traffic. Ensure your site is keyword-rich and that your pages are correctly tagged and titled. If you’re not sure how to do this, hire an SEO expert to help you.
If you’re experiencing any of these problems with your school website design, it’s time to re-do your school’s website design. A school website redesign can be a big undertaking, but it’s worth it if it means you can better serve your community and reach your enrollment goals.
SchoolCues is an all-in-one school management system for small schools with limited budgets and resources. Our solutions include admissions and enrollment, online payments, student information systems, gradebook, communications, parent engagement, donations and fundraising, alumni management, and more. Schedule a demo with us today.