Before you make any changes to the website,
so that you know what it’s worth.
Training for schools that manage their own websites. We’ll go through what’s essential for your website and what can wait, how to organise the structure and individual pages, and how to write content for them, so that parents can make an informed decision.
Primarily online. Scope as required.There’s plenty of work to be done on the website. The question is, which of it will make a difference.
Parents choose between schools, and the website is one of the places where they make their decision. However, most of the content is produced internally: it describes how the school is organised, rather than what an outsider needs to know.
The benefit isn’t a nicer website. It’s the certainty of knowing where to invest your time.
On the school website, you can work on ten things at once, but nine of them make hardly any difference. The structure and design of specific pages determine whether a person can find the answer. Search functions tend to be more of an afterthought at schools, but it’s not worth ignoring them entirely either. This distinction is what the whole training course is about.
The second half is about the text. The school offers a range of options to choose from, and the way you write on the website should reflect that. Don’t try to persuade. Answer before the person asks, and let them decide.
For those who make decisions about the website, and for those who contribute content to it.
This is right for you if
- Are you planning a new website and want to understand it before you commission it,
- You manage the website yourself and want to know what to prioritise,
- The content is contributed by more people, and everyone writes it differently,
- You’ve received some offers and aren’t sure which one to choose.
It won’t suit you if
- You’re looking for a technical course on content management systems. This is about what to put on a website and why, not about where each button is,
- If you want to hand over the entire project, then a website analysis or design would be more appropriate.
Six things that make decision-making easier.
What a website should do
What sort of tasks do people tackle on it, and why is it a different list to the one the school would draw up? Everything else follows on from that.
What is essential and what can wait
When it comes to a school website, the structure and well-designed pages are key. The search function is a bonus, but it shouldn’t be completely overlooked. You’ll come away with a clear idea of what to prioritise.
Website structure
Where things belong, and why a website cannot be structured in the same way as a school is organised internally. How to tell if two pages are competing with each other.
Reflections on specific aspects
What should be included on the enrolment, course or open day page, and in what order. The layout should be finalised before anyone starts drawing. It’s cheaper to change a line than to rework a finished page.
How to write when a parent is making a choice
The text should answer the question before the reader even asks it, and let them decide for themselves. How to write about the courses and the school in a way that someone who has never been there can understand.
How to keep it that way
What to check at the start of the year and before enrolment, when content should be removed, and how to prevent the website from becoming cluttered again.
Online, or at your school.
Online
- the usual way, without travelling and without wasting a day,
- it can be divided into several shorter sections,
- a screen share over your website.
Personally
- If you’re in the area, I’ll come round,
- It’s a good idea if more people from the congregation are to be present,
- We’ll agree on the scope based on your requirements.
Priorities and rules on paper.
What to put the work into
Sorted by what makes a difference to your website.
Rules regarding content and text
On a single page, so that it can be passed on to someone else.
Checklist
What to go through before enrolment, at the start of the year and from time to time.
Comments on your website
The specific locations we opened during the training course.
Four things everyone asks about.
We don’t sell anything, do we?
We don’t need to use the word ‘sale’. However, parents choose between several schools and make their decision based on what they find. The way the website is designed should reflect this.
We’ll look that up online.
There is some general advice there. What’s missing, however, is guidance on what to tackle first with your website and what’s a waste of time for a school.
We don’t have time for that.
That’s why it’s online and can be broken down into shorter sections. You’ll save time on enquiries – which you won’t then have to deal with over the phone – and on work you won’t need to take on unnecessarily.
A person will leave us, and that’ll be that.
It won’t. You’ll receive the priorities, rules and checklist in writing, so they can be passed on.
The scope will be agreed in advance.
- A programme tailored to your needs
- It can be divided into shorter sections
- Priorities and rules in writing
- Opportunity to ask questions after the training session
- Everything from the online training course
- A longer block for a single session
- A space for practical queries
The price depends on the scope of the work and the number of people involved. I’ll let you know the exact amount in advance.
Please tell us what you’re planning to do with the website.
All I need is your website address and a few sentences about how things work at your organisation and who uses the website. I’ll suggest what the training should cover and how long it should last.
If something else turns out to be more useful, I’ll let you know. This isn’t a binding order.