You’ll be surprised at how few schools invest in bespoke school website design. Many put a template up on their website, fill out some information and call it a day. While we do understand that bespoke school web design costs money, which can be a problem with tightening school budgets, investment in the development of a website can boost the school in a number of ways. This makes it more than worth the cost. Let’s explain.
Tailored to Your School’s Values and Ethos
Bespoke school web design is, from the outset, designed specifically for your school. Everything about that website will be designed to enhance what your school values are, and highlight the ethos of your school. The job of your web designer will be to get to the bottom of what you want to showcase about your school, and that’ll come out in your web design.
With proper bespoke school website design, your school will be showcased in the best possible light. Whoever visits your site will see exactly what your school is all about. To see this in practice, have a look at some generic school websites, and then websites for public schools. You’ll see a vast difference between them.
Improved User Experience for Parents and Carers
When a parent or carer lands on your website, you want them to easily find what they need in no more than a couple of clicks. Important information should always be prominent. The problem? Many generic websites are not designed in this way. In fact, many generic websites fail to include information that may be important to parents or carers.
By opting for bespoke school website design, the user experience can be handcrafted for parents and carers. This means making it easy to access important information, displaying the important information, and even making it simple to communicate with the school (e.g. forms to report absences, sign permission slips, etc.)
Ofsted Compliance Built In
Ofsted requires schools have certain information on their website. Requirements can change often, too. Unfortunately, many schools either don’t include the required information or, when they do, display it in a way that is too difficult to access. This can hamper any Ofsted inspection. If you opt for bespoke web design from a company that is specialised in school website design, then you can be sure that the correct information will be displayed. It will also be displayed in such a way that is easy to access for parents, teachers, and Ofsted.
Bespoke website designers will also ensure that information can be updated easily should any requirements change.
Accessibility and Inclusivity from the Outset
Many generic websites are not designed with accessibility in mind, which can be a problem for schools. With bespoke web design, in addition to making it easier to get around a website (which makes things more accessible), other features can be added.
For example, mobile-friendly design which should make it easier for almost everybody to access a platform. Remember – the vast majority of people nowadays browse sites from their mobile devices.
Colours, images, and text will be perfectly combined to ensure that everything is easy to read for everybody. Many generic sites don’t take into account that poor contrasting of text on a background can hinder reading for many people.
Some designers can even add in multi-lingual support when you are running a school in a far more diverse community.
Stronger School Branding and Identity
A generic website can never properly showcase the brand for the school. With a generic website, you have very little control over the aspects that can be changed. This means that you may not always be showcasing your school in the best possible light.
With proper website design, you can maintain a consistent brand across your website. This means consistent colours, logos, image use, etc.
A bespoke design can also be produced in such a way that enhances what your school’s brand is, far more than you would with any generic template. Many schools that opt for bespoke design aim for a website that looks completely different from other school websites because it suits what they are all about.
A consistent brand identity is key in this day and age, even for schools.
SEO-Friendly Structure & Website Performance
Getting found in search engines is key, even for schools. A good website designer will make things easier on this front. This includes crafting a fast-loading website (which, even outside of SEO is important), ensures that the site structure is easily browsable for search engines, and more.
Combined with other SEO techniques, many schools will find that their websites become far easier to find through the search engines when they opt for bespoke website design. This means more site visitors, and more potential applicants for places at the school.
Scalable and Future-Proof
Good web site design leaves room to grow. With a quality bespoke website design in place, there will be no need to upgrade to a new website every year or so (which you may get with generic templates). Bespoke design will make it easy for schools to update information. In fact, with proper design it will be as simple as tapping new information into the site’s admin control panel. This will ensure that the website is always up to date.
Good web design will also be future-proof. It will work on computers, just as well as it will work on mobile devices. This means everybody can access the platform.
The Benefits of Bespoke School Web Design
As you can see, there are numerous reasons why bespoke web design for schools is worth investing in. It can enhance your school’s brand, ensure you meet Ofsted regulations, and help to future-proof the site. Contact us today to discuss school bespoke website design.
