When Rediker designs a website, we adhere to best practices and industry standards, carefully considering branding and identity, as well as accessibility, SEO, and the quality of assets such as images. However, content will naturally evolve over time as your website content managers make edits, updates, and adjustments to your website and its content. A professionally designed website from Rediker is crafted with meticulous attention to numerous elements that our team has fully internalized. Nevertheless, a website can be similar to purchasing a car, once you "drive it off the lot," its value and quality can fluctuate especially depending on how well you maintain it. Schools and their content managers must remain vigilant and committed to maintaining a high-standard of quality for their website. Below are some essential guidelines to keep in mind as you manage your website and content. Whether you are a novice or expert, or whether your school is looking at redesigning the website or simply improving what you have, these notes will aid you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Digital Narrative Aligned With Goals
Your website serves as the digital reflection of your institution, making it essential to align it with your school's identity and to clearly convey who you are. Consequently, it is crucial that your website be well-organized, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to navigate. Every element should contribute to your core objectives and guide your visitors effectively. For instance, private schools should focus their online presence on recruitment, engaging donors, and connecting with alumni. Public schools should focus on presenting important enrollment information as well critical community information. Eliminating barriers to these objectives—such as excessive pages, overloaded text, and or outdated information—will enhance your digital narrative and ensure your website aligns seamlessly with your goals. This also includes using high quality assets like photos and video.
Reflect on these questions:
-What defines us as an institution and what is our identity?
-Who constitutes the primary audience of our school website (prospective families, donors, alumni, or current families)?
-What are our primary goals and objectives (increased applications, enhanced donations, etc.)?
-Does all the displayed content and elements effectively support our narrative, cater to our audience, and align with those goals?
-Are there any notable distractions or elements that hinder our narrative and objectives?
Calls to Action
A call to action is a link or button specifically crafted to guide your visitors toward desired behaviors. Each section of every page on your website should incorporate a call to action. A prime illustration for our private schools would be an "Apply Now" or "Donate" button. These calls to action are strategically aligned with goals like student recruitment and engaging prospective families, in addition to boosting donations. Ensure that you feature clear calls to action on all pages of your website that are timely, up-to-date, and pertinent.
A popup can be used to draw attention toward important signature events, like an annual fundraiser. However, be sure that you only use popups for those few important events and are temporary.
Reflect on these questions:
-Do we prominently present clear and direct opportunities for our visitors to access important information that is inline with their needs?
-Do we use strong verbs to help highlight importance or urgency?
-Are call to actions properly presented in order of importance toward our target audience and goals?
Visual Aesthetics
A website should consistently reflect your identity and values. Every aspect of the website—from spacing and fonts to colors, voice, and image selections—plays a crucial role in conveying those characteristics to your visitors. Additionally, it's essential for your site to maintain this visual appeal across various device sizes, a concept known as responsive design. Whether a potential student is accessing your site on a large desktop monitor or a mobile phone, it should look impressive and adapt seamlessly to ensure a visually appealing experience. Always review your website content using our multi-screen size editor and preview option.
Reflect on these questions:
-Is our website professional and modern in look, layout, and design?
-Does the website present well in all device sizes?
-Are the visual elements consistent?
-Are all photos of high quality and does the subject matter align with our narrative?
Simple & Clean
The "less is more" philosophy is essential for maintaining a modern website. With fewer choices and less clutter, visitors are more inclined to stay on your site. A simple, clean design enhances user-friendliness and facilitates easier navigation. Modern websites also deploy "white space" (empty space) around elements, to enhance readability, organization, and visual appeal This concept often presents more of a challenge for schools compared to other organizations, as they wrestle with an overwhelming amount of content. In straightforward terms, not everything should be included on the website, nor should all information carry the same weight. Also, other tools should be deployed along side the website to assist and split the load. Ideally, your main navigation should consist of no more than 5-7 pages, with each page or section containing a maximum of 5-7 sub-menu items. Additionally, a minimalist, uncluttered site improves load times, boosts SEO, and enhances accessibility. Not to mention it makes it a breeze to maintain.
Content
All content should revolve around the narrative you wish to convey and align with your goals. The home page of a website is its most crucial element, making it essential to highlight what sets your school apart and to direct your visitors with clear calls to action. For instance, this month's lunch menu is not suitable for your home page; instead, it should feature important items like calls for applications, enrollment information, and donation opportunities. A Current Families page, along with your Rediker PlusPortals, will serve as valuable hubs for information pertinent to your current students, parents, and staff. An item such as this month's lunch menu is better suited for one of these sections, and given its temporary nature, an announcement would be more appropriate as announcements have a start and end date.
Reflect on these questions:
-Do we keep text content to a brief minimum?
-Do we present only that which is necessary?
-Are we keeping a small concise website that is inline with our narrative, goals, and audience?
-Is there proper white space around elements?
SEO & Accessibility
Both SEO and Accessibility are vital components that work seamlessly together. Best practices in one area often enhance the other. Search Engine Optimization aims to boost your website's visibility and improve its rankings on search engines like Google and Bing, which ultimately drives increased traffic to your site. On the other hand, Accessibility ensures that your content is reachable for all users, including those with physical or mental differences and various abilities, covering visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments. Interestingly, there is considerable overlap between SEO best practices and Accessibility considerations.
Here are several strategies and items that can benefit both SEO and Accessibility:
- Utilize clear headings (h1-h6) and concise page titles/names
- Incorporate keywords in headings and titles where appropriate
- Keep page titles brief and to the point
- Add alternative text to images (Alt Text)
- Be mindful of load times (avoid overcrowding pages with content)
- Review, complete, and update page meta data (titles and descriptions)
- Maintain a consistent page layout
- Implement breadcrumbs on all pages
- Use descriptive links (steer clear of "click here")
Ongoing Research & Upkeep
A website is a dynamic entity; it is never truly "finished" and is constantly evolving. It’s essential to regularly assess your online presence, encompassing your website, social media, and search engine results. This process involves searching for your school on search engines and social platforms, as well as reviewing the content on your own website.
Some items to consider:
-Ensure your website content remains current.
-Do you own alternative domains that may help with your branding (example, owning the .com, and .net etc. versions of your domain and also point them to your main domain)?
-Create a Google Analytics account and integrate the GA ID into your website.
-Utilize tools like Google Search Console for assistance.
-Have multiple social media accounts and publicize your school with links to your website
Website Self-Assessment Checklist
These bullet points may help you review your website. Some of the items may not be relevant to your school/situation and or may be considered a future goal.
Home Page Content
Is your home page inline with your identity, narrative, branding, and directing visitors to learn more about you or where to go for important key information?
- Welcome/Mission Statement
- Statistics/Highlights
- Calls to Action
- News/Current Events
- Images (up to date and promoting your narrative)
- Short, Clean, Clutter Free, and Up to Date
Calls to Action
Are you inviting visitors to explore your website and quickly access important pages and information?
- Admissions/Application/Enrollment Links
- Careers/Employment
- Portal/Current Families
- Giving/Donation
- Events/Calendar Items
- Contact Information
- School Store (if applicable)
- Alumni
- Athletics
Header
Is your header serving its crucial role for branding, navigation, and user experience?
- Logo (links to Home)
- Clean Clear Navigation (5-7 Items)
- Utility Links (Apply, Donate, etc)
Footer
Is your footer serving its crucial role for branding, navigation, and user experience?
- Contact Information: Name, Address, Phone, and or Emails
- Social Media Links (Business Info- Social Links)
- Copyright
- Endorsement/Partnership Logos
- Utility/Special Links
- Apply/Enroll
- Donate
- Contact Information
- Nondiscrimination statement/link
- Accessibility statement/link
General Content
- Videos/Photos are relatively new and of good quality (not grainy or pixelated)
- Upcoming events are clear and up to date
- Faculty/Staff listed are accurate
- Application/Admissions/Enrollment steps/instructions are for current year
- PDF/Files links work and are current
- Internal Content Pages:
- Consistent and similar/predictable in layout/design
- Minimal concise text
- Visual elements like photos
- Clear Call to Actions
- Proper "white space" (empty space) is present around element
Navigation
Is your navigation clean and minimal, making it easy to navigate your website?
- Site loads quick (about 2 seconds or less)
- Items look good and are easily viewed on mobile devices and tablets
- Links work
- Content is brief (text content is kept to minimum)
- Buttons and links are clearly labeled and easy to click
- Menus are short (5-7 items at most)
- Avoid External Links/Keep them minimal
SEO & Accessibility
Are you aware of how your site scored for performance, SEO, and accessibility?
- Pages have accurate relevant meta data (title and description)
- Images have accurate relevant alt text
- Video and or animation is minimal, and smooth (nothing fast or jumpy)
- Proper contrast (text on top of an image is clear)
- All pages use proper headings (h1, h2, Etc)
- Site icons are present (Fav icon, etc)
- Links are clear text labels (Learn More NOT Click Here)
- Images do not contain text in them (this is not mobile, SEO, or accessibility friendly)
- Use a scan tool (like Google Chrome Lighhouse) to review your score(s)
Branding/Consistency
Does your website consistently deploy a theme that is inline with your branding?
- Logo is high quality (PNG or SVG preferable)
- Consistent use of fonts (headings, paragraph, etc)
- Consistent use of color
- Quality photos/video
- Photos convey community (uniforms, campus, etc)
- Consistent spacing (margin/padding)