What a school should fix before it redesigns its website

A school calls us because the website looks dated. We open it, and within ten minutes it is clear that the design is the third problem on the list.

The first is that nobody can find the fee schedule. The second is that the term dates are from two sessions ago. Both are content problems, both can be fixed this week, and both will still be problems the day a beautiful new site goes live if nobody has dealt with them.

Start with the five things people actually come for

For most schools the list is short: fees, term dates, admissions requirements, contact details and how to apply. Look at what a parent has to click through to reach each one. If any of them takes more than two clicks from the homepage, that is the redesign brief writing itself.

Decide who owns each page

Websites go stale because no one is responsible for a page. Put a name against every section — admissions, news, staff, fees — before you commission anything. A site nobody owns will be out of date within a term, however well it is built.

Write the content before the layout

Design fits content, not the other way round. If the text is written, approved and signed off, a build runs to schedule. If it is not, the project stalls at exactly the point where everyone is waiting for someone else.

Then, and only then, redesign

With the content sorted, the design work becomes what it should be: structure, hierarchy, speed and how the school presents itself. That is the part worth paying for, and it goes much faster when the groundwork is already done.

Looking at your website this session?