Not understanding Ofsted and DfE requirements
It’s important to stay up-to-date with Ofsted and DfE guidelines. The latest changes, for example, stated that schools were now required to post a curriculum and a prospectus on their website, since they no longer had to publish this information elsewhere. It’s therefore important to be aware of the new guidelines and their impact on not only your school website, but also other marketing materials.
Too much information
It’s not necessary to have a website that accommodates all of the information your school has. However, it must be easy to access and read. It’s important to create separate pages with subheadings, and a simple navigation bar. For assistance with Primary School Websites, visit www.fsedesign.co.uk/websites-for-schools/primary-school-websites
Not maintaining the website
There is nothing more frustrating than clicking on a link and being taken to a 404 error. It’s easy for schools, once they have their website up and running to assume that they don’t need to maintain it anymore. It’s not true.
What if you can’t access your contact page? What if the information that you must provide in order to stay compliant with DfE and Ofsted is no longer visible. Broken pages can be easily fixed, but the problem arises when schools don’t know that they are broken.
Contact information that is not adequate
Many people who visit your school website will want to know how to reach them about a specific issue. It is frustrating and time-consuming to not be able to locate the information you need, or to have to email the incorrect person in order to get the correct person’s contact details.
You and your customers will benefit from a directory that allows you to search for the correct contact information. Include all relevant staff members under the appropriate department and title.
Ignoring SEO
Many schools do not understand the importance of including SEO on their website. The search engine optimization (SEO), is what allows people to discover your school’s website. It is easy to think that people will be able access your school website because you include the address in all correspondence.
What about those who don’t know your school exists or are not in touch with it? You must be able reach parents and students who have recently moved or are moving to the area. You can do this by optimizing your SEO to ensure that you are the first school that comes up when people search for schools in that area.