School website checklist: what every school site needs
A school website does one job: help a prospective parent decide to enquire or visit. Here is the page-by-page checklist that gets you there, and the parts you can safely skip.
Last updated · 8 min read
What a school website is actually for
Before any checklist, be clear on the job. A school website is not a brochure to admire; it is a decision tool for a parent who is choosing where to send their child. Almost everyone who visits is doing one of three things: deciding whether to enquire, preparing for a visit, or coming back as an existing parent to find a date, a notice, or a fee link.
That focus changes what matters. Beautiful photography helps, but a parent who cannot find the admissions process, the fees, or the phone number will leave no matter how good the site looks. Build for the question the visitor is actually asking.
The core pages, and what belongs on each
Six pages cover the large majority of what a school site needs at launch. Each has a clear purpose, so do not pad them:
| Page | Its job | Must include |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Say who you are in five seconds | School name, location, one line on what makes you different, a clear "Admissions" and "Contact" link |
| About | Build trust and context | Founding year, board affiliation, vision in plain words, photos of the real campus |
| Admissions | Turn interest into an enquiry | How to apply, age and class criteria, key dates, an enquiry form or WhatsApp/phone link |
| Academics | Show substance | Classes offered, board, broad curriculum approach, facilities that matter to parents |
| Notices / News | Show the school is alive | Recent updates, holidays, events, exam or admission dates |
| Contact | Make reaching you trivial | Phone (tap to call), WhatsApp, email, address, an embedded map, hours |
If you only get one page right, make it admissions. It is the page that converts a curious parent into an enquiry, and it is the one most school sites bury or leave vague.
The trust essentials behind the pages
Parents are making a high-stakes, low-information decision. A few details quietly decide whether they trust the school enough to enquire:
- Real photos of the real campus, not stock images of children in other countries. Authenticity reads instantly.
- A working phone number and WhatsApp, visible on every page, that someone actually answers.
- Clear board and affiliation details, so parents can verify what kind of school it is.
- An address with a map, because location is one of the first filters a parent applies.
- Recent activity, a notice or event from this month, proving the school and the site are both maintained.
Mobile, speed, and being found
Most parents will reach the site from a phone, often through a link shared on WhatsApp. That makes three things non-negotiable: it must read cleanly on a small screen, it must load in a couple of seconds on mobile data, and the phone number must be tap-to-call. A site that only looks good on a laptop has failed for the majority of its visitors.
Being found matters too. The site should at least show up when someone searches the school by name, with the correct name, locality, and contact details. That is a smaller job than ranking for competitive terms, and it is covered in the companion post on getting a school found online.
What you can safely skip at launch
Just as important as the checklist is knowing what not to wait for. None of these should delay your launch:
- A large blog, unless someone will actually write it. An empty blog hurts more than no blog.
- Individual staff profile pages, which date quickly as people change. A simple leadership section is enough.
- Heavy animation or video backgrounds, which slow the site on the phones most parents use.
- A login or portal you have not built yet. Add it when the system behind it is ready, not as a dead button.
Launch small and accurate, then grow the site as you have real content and real systems to connect to it.
The upgrade: a connected site, not just a brochure
A standalone brochure site is a fine first step. The bigger win is when the public site shares the same system as the parent portal, fee payment, and notices. Then the admissions enquiry, the fee link, and the "latest notices" section are not three separate things to maintain; they are the same school system shown to the public. A parent can go from reading about the school to logging in or paying without hitting a different login or a broken link. See pricing for how the website fits with the rest of the system.
Frequently asked questions
What should a school website include?
At minimum: a clear home page that says who the school is and where it is, an about and admissions section, contact details with a map and phone number, key dates and notices, a fees and policies area, and a photo gallery. The single most important page is admissions, because that is what prospective parents come for. Everything else supports the decision to enquire or visit.
How much content does a school website need to launch?
Less than most people think. A school can launch credibly with six to eight pages: home, about, admissions, academics, contact, and a notices or news area. It is far better to launch a small, accurate, well-maintained site than to wait months for a large one that then goes stale. Add pages as you have real content to put on them.
Does a school website need to be mobile friendly?
Yes, and it is not optional. The large majority of Indian parents will open the site on a phone, often from a WhatsApp link. If the site is hard to read or tap on mobile, it fails for most of its audience regardless of how it looks on a laptop. Mobile readability, fast loading, and a tap-to-call number matter more than visual polish.
Should the school website connect to the school software?
It helps a great deal. When the public site shares the same system as fee payment, the parent portal, and notices, a parent can move from reading about the school to logging in or paying fees without hitting a different login or a dead end. A brochure site that stands alone is fine to start, but a connected site removes friction at exactly the moments that matter.
Build a school site that works
Bexra builds your school website as part of the same system that runs admissions, notices, fees, and the parent portal, so the public site and the school never drift apart.