Evaluate your school’s website

CPMM Media Group is calling on schools and colleges to take stock of their websites.

A website is a key marketing tool for any organisation and CPMM Media Group is recommending that it is not forgotten about amidst busy school life. Not only is it an important information resource for parents and students, but it also needs to attract new students and their families, whilst also meeting Ofsted’s exacting requirements.

Ellie Adshead, PR & marketing manager at CPMM Media Group has offered five simple tips to consider when reviewing a website.

Easy navigation
Having an easy-to-navigate website is the most crucial thing. You want to make the user experience as simple and seamless as possible. If your menus are complicated and untidy, users will have a difficult job finding the information they require. By having everything in order you will keep prospective and current students/families happy.

Use Google analytics
Google analytics is a wonderful free tool that gives you much needed insight into how your website is performing, what pages are viewed the most, how users get to your website – and so much more! Having this insight can be really useful and it allows you to focus on areas you may need to improve or continue to maintain.

Information overload
You won’t be surprised to hear that too much information on a website can actually put people off. Large blocks of texts with poor spacing or huge images that take over, can discourage people from digesting what is on the page and miss key information. We recommend less is more and if you need to include a substantial amount of information/text, then keep it spaced evenly and use a good point size.

Is your website multi-device friendly?
More than ever, people are browsing the internet from their mobile phone or tablet, and so it is important to ensure your website is multi-device friendly. According to Google, over 75% of users prefer a mobile-friendly website.

If your school’s website isn’t set up for this, it is a good idea to consider investing in this and improve the site’s functionality.

Don’t forget SEO
Having good search engine optimisation (SEO) makes your website more visible, and that means more traffic and more opportunities to convert prospective students/families.

The content on your website needs to be well thought out and include keywords or key phrases so that you appear in the relevant search results. For example, ‘outstanding Liverpool catholic secondary school’.
If you use WordPress, Yoast SEO is a great plug-in to add to your website’s content management system.

If you need advice, support or a brand-new website, let the education PR and marketing experts help. Contact Ellie at CPMM Media Group via email: ellie@cpmmmedia.com, to find out more.