Quick answer: A good school website puts the information parents and students need most within one or two taps: term dates, the calendar, news and letters home, absence reporting, contact details, and links to any parent portal. It must work well on phones, meet accessibility standards such as WCAG 2.0, and be easy for non technical staff to update every week. For prospective families, it should give a clear, honest picture of the school’s character, results and admissions process.
School websites have an unusual job. They serve current parents looking for practical details, prospective parents deciding where to apply, students looking for homework or timetables, staff, governors and the wider community. Many sites try to please everyone at once and end up with a cluttered home page and important information buried several clicks deep. A clear plan avoids that.
Know your audiences
Before you design anything, list who uses the site and what they come for.
Current parents
The largest group by far, and the most frequent visitors. They want term dates, the school calendar, letters and newsletters, lunch menus, uniform information, club timetables, absence reporting, payment links and contact details. They usually visit on a phone, often in a hurry.
Prospective parents
They visit less often but each visit matters. They want to understand the school’s ethos, curriculum, results, facilities, staff, admissions criteria, open days and how to apply.
Students
Depending on age, they may look for homework, revision resources, timetables, clubs, the learning platform and exam information.
Staff and governors
They need policies, links to internal systems and sometimes documents that should not be public.
The wider community
Local residents, job applicants and partner organisations look for vacancies, lettings, events and news.
Structure the site around tasks
A simple, predictable structure helps everyone. A typical main menu might include:
- About us: welcome, ethos, staff, governors, results, inspection reports
- Admissions: how to apply, open days, criteria, transition
- Parents: calendar, term dates, letters, menus, uniform, payments, absence
- Learning: curriculum, subjects, homework, enrichment
- News and events
- Contact
Keep labels plain. “Parents” is clearer than “Community Hub”. Test the structure by asking a few parents to find specific items, such as next term’s start date, and watch where they look.
A quick links area
Add a prominent set of quick links on the home page for the most common tasks: term dates, calendar, report an absence, latest letters, lunch menu and the parent portal. These do more for current parents than any large photo banner.
Calendars and term dates
Parents check dates constantly. Make them easy to find and keep them accurate.
- Publish term dates for at least the current and next academic year.
- Use a proper calendar with month and list views, rather than a PDF that gets out of date.
- Allow filtering by year group or category if the school is large.
- Offer a subscribe option so parents can add events to Google Calendar, Outlook or their phone using an iCal feed.
- Show the next few upcoming events on the home page.
News, letters and newsletters
Regular news shows a school is active and gives prospective parents a sense of daily life. It also keeps current parents informed.
- Publish letters home as web pages where possible, not just PDFs. Pages are easier to read on a phone and easier to search.
- Organise letters by date and year group.
- Archive older items rather than deleting them.
- Link newsletters from your email service, such as MailChimp, so parents can sign up and read past issues.
Parent portals and online services
Many schools use separate systems for payments, attendance, reports, homework and messaging. The website should not try to replace them, but it should make them easy to reach.
- Link clearly to each portal with a short explanation of what it is for.
- Use consistent naming so parents know what to expect.
- Provide help pages for common login problems.
- Where possible, use single sign on so parents do not juggle many passwords.
If the school needs something more tailored, such as a custom form workflow for trip consent or club sign ups, a good CMS with a forms plugin can handle much of it. See our guide to WordPress forms for what is possible.
Accessibility is not optional
A school website must work for parents and students with disabilities, including those who use screen readers, keyboard navigation or magnification. In many countries public bodies, including schools, have legal duties around accessibility. In the US, schools receiving federal funding should look at Section 508 and ADA obligations. WCAG 2.0 level AA is the widely accepted target.
Key points:
- Use real headings in a logical order.
- Add meaningful alt text to images.
- Make sure text has enough contrast with its background.
- Ensure everything works with a keyboard alone.
- Label form fields properly and explain errors clearly.
- Provide captions or transcripts for video.
- Avoid putting important information only inside images or scanned PDFs.
Accessibility also helps everyone. Clear headings and readable text make the site easier for busy parents too.
Designed for phones first
Most parents will visit on a phone. Design and test for small screens from the start.
- Use a responsive design.
- Keep the quick links visible near the top.
- Make phone numbers and email addresses tappable.
- Keep downloads small and offer web pages instead of large PDFs.
- Check the site on older devices and slower connections.
Easy updates for busy staff
A school website only stays useful if staff keep it current. That means the CMS has to be simple.
- Choose a CMS that office staff can use with minimal training. WordPress is a common choice because of its familiar editor and wide support. Our WordPress development page explains how we approach builds.
- Set up user roles so teachers can post class news without being able to change the whole site.
- Create templates for common content such as letters, events and news posts.
- Provide a short written guide and a training session.
- Agree who owns each section and how often it is reviewed.
Showing the school to prospective families
For admissions, the site is often the first impression. Make it honest and specific.
- Use real photos of students (with consent) and the school, not stock images.
- Explain the ethos in plain words, with examples of what it looks like day to day.
- Publish results and inspection reports clearly.
- Make open day dates and booking easy to find.
- Include a short welcome from the head, written in a natural voice.
- Answer common questions on an admissions FAQ page.
Security and privacy
Schools hold sensitive information about children, so be careful.
- Use HTTPS across the site.
- Never publish children’s full names alongside photos without explicit consent.
- Keep private documents behind proper logins, not just hidden links.
- Keep the CMS, themes and plugins updated.
- Back up the site regularly.
FAQ
Should we put letters online as PDFs?
PDFs are fine as downloads, but publishing the content as a web page is easier on phones and better for accessibility.
How often should the website be updated?
News and calendars weekly at least. Policy and admissions pages whenever they change, with a full review each year.
Do we need a separate site for the sixth form or nursery?
Usually not. A clear section within the main site is easier to maintain and keeps everything in one place.
What does a school website cost?
It depends on size, features and integrations. Our guide to website development cost explains the main factors.
Make the website work for your community
A school website succeeds when parents find what they need quickly, prospective families get a true picture of the school and staff can keep it current without stress. If you are planning a new site or improving an existing one, see how we help organisations turn visitors into customers with clear, usable websites.
