What Should a Good School Website Include?

The homepage should answer the basic questions quickly

A visitor should be able to tell which school they are looking at, where it is located, what level or type of education it offers and how to reach the school. The homepage does not need to contain every detail; it should guide people to the information they are most likely to need.

Use current school photos, a clear school name and a small number of useful calls to action such as Admissions, Contact or Visit the School. Avoid filling the first screen with long slogans that say little about the institution itself.

An About page should explain the institution, not just repeat a slogan

Useful About content can include the school's history where it is documented, mission or values, leadership information, facilities and the educational levels the school serves.

The goal is to give families enough context to understand the institution. If the school does not have a formal history or leadership profile ready, it is better to publish a shorter accurate page than invent impressive-sounding details.

Academics should be easy to understand

Parents often want to know what programmes, year groups or academic areas the school offers. An academics section can explain those clearly without turning the website into a full curriculum archive.

Larger schools may need separate pages for departments, programmes or campuses. Smaller schools may be better served by one well-structured academics page.

Admissions needs practical information

An admissions page should reduce avoidable back-and-forth. It can explain who may apply, the basic process, required documents, where to obtain forms and how to contact the school with questions.

If the school uses a downloadable application form, make the file easy to find. If the school wants online applications, confirm exactly what information will be collected and who will receive it before building the form.

Contact details should be obvious and consistent

Display the official phone number, email address and location in a place visitors can find quickly. A contact page should not force someone to submit a form just to discover how to call the school.

Where useful, include a map and approved social links. Check that the same contact information appears consistently across the website and other official school profiles.

Mobile responsiveness is essential for the actual audience

Many parents will first open the site on a phone. Navigation, forms, contact links, text and images should remain usable on a small screen without requiring horizontal scrolling or tiny tap targets.

Test the site on several screen sizes, not only in a desktop browser. A website that looks polished on a large monitor but becomes difficult to use on a phone is not finished.

Use a gallery to show real school life

A gallery is most useful when it contains current, relevant images of the school, students, activities, facilities and events that the school is comfortable publishing.

Quality matters more than quantity. A smaller set of well-framed, properly sized photos usually gives a better impression than hundreds of repeated or low-resolution images.

News and events help when the school will maintain them

A news section can show recent school activities, announcements and events. It is useful only if someone is responsible for keeping it current.

If the school is unlikely to update news regularly, a simpler site with evergreen information may look more credible than a “Latest News” section that has not changed for years.

Forms and documents should solve a real task

Admissions forms, prospectuses, fee information or other public documents can save time when they are placed clearly and kept up to date.

Avoid uploading sensitive internal documents simply because the website has a downloads section. Decide what is genuinely public before publishing it.

A map and social links should support, not replace, the website

Maps help families find the school, while social links can lead visitors to current school activity. The website should still contain the core official information instead of sending every important question to Facebook, Instagram or another platform.

Use a school-owned domain and professional email where possible

A dedicated school domain gives the institution a stable official address that it can keep even if staff members or social accounts change. Professional email addresses on the school domain can also make official communication easier to recognise.

The school should know who controls the domain account, where renewal notices go and how access is recovered if the person who originally set it up leaves.

Privacy and security basics matter

The site should use HTTPS, forms should collect only information the school needs, and administrative access should be protected. Software and hosting should be maintained rather than left indefinitely without updates.

Do not publish private student information, internal documents or personal contact details without a clear reason and appropriate permission.

Clarify who owns the content and accounts

Before a website project starts, the school should understand who controls the domain, hosting account, website content, photos and email accounts. It should also know how content can be exported or transferred if the school changes providers later.

That conversation is easier before launch than after several years of content have accumulated.

Photography can change how the site feels

Good photography gives a school website credibility because visitors can see the real environment instead of generic stock images. Plan which facilities, classes, activities or leadership portraits are needed before the shoot.

Drone media can be useful for showing a campus where it is practical and appropriate, but it should support the story of the school rather than becoming the entire website.

A practical school website checklist

Build for the school's actual content capacity

A 15-page website is not automatically better than a six-page website. The right size depends on what the school can explain, maintain and keep current.

SEAC's school website service page shows the current Basic, Standard and Premium directions, including which projects may involve photography, news, forms, email setup or more custom work.