Parents rarely visit a school website to browse. They usually arrive with a specific task in mind.
They may want to check the school day, find the admissions process, download a letter, report an absence or understand whether a child is eligible for a particular club. If the information is difficult to find, out of date or written in language that assumes too much knowledge, frustration quickly follows.
That makes school website planning more than a design exercise. It is a practical exercise in understanding parent needs, organising information and giving staff a manageable way to keep content accurate.
Whether you are planning a new website for a school, nursery or academy trust, or reviewing an existing one, start with the tasks visitors need to complete.
Begin with parent tasks, not the site map
A traditional school website structure often grows over time. A new page is added for a policy, event, year group or initiative, then another link is placed in the menu. Eventually, the navigation reflects the school’s internal structure rather than the way parents look for information.
A better approach is to list the most common parent questions first.
For example:
- How do I apply for a place?
- What time does the school day start and finish?
- How do I report an absence?
- What should my child bring?
- Where can I find the term dates?
- How much does wraparound care cost?
- Who do I contact about a concern?
- What meals are available?
- Where are the latest letters and announcements?
- How can I pay for a trip or activity?
These questions can be grouped into broader tasks, such as:
- Choosing the school – admissions, curriculum, results, ethos, facilities and visits.
- Starting at the school – applying, preparing for the first day and completing forms.
- Managing everyday life – timetables, uniform, meals, transport, clubs and attendance.
- Keeping up to date – news, calendars, letters, newsletters and urgent notices.
- Getting help – contact details, safeguarding information, special educational needs support and complaints.
This exercise gives you a more useful basis for planning navigation. It also helps identify which information deserves the most prominent position on the homepage.
Prioritise the information parents need most
Not every page needs equal prominence. A school website should make important, frequently requested information easy to reach without requiring visitors to understand the organisation’s terminology.
Consider creating a clear set of quick links for high-priority tasks. Depending on the school, these might include:
- Admissions
- Term dates
- School day and attendance
- News and letters
- Breakfast and after-school clubs
- Uniform
- Lunch menus
- Parent contact
- Policies
- Calendar
The exact list should come from your audience research and staff experience. Ask reception staff, office teams, teachers and senior leaders which questions they answer repeatedly. Those conversations often reveal the difference between what the school assumes is obvious and what parents actually struggle to find.
Important information should also be available in more than one sensible place. Term dates could be linked from the homepage, the parent information area and the calendar. That does not mean duplicating the content. It means helping users reach the correct page from the routes they are most likely to take.
Avoid filling the homepage with every possible link. Too many choices make the page harder to scan. Use a clear hierarchy: prioritise urgent and frequent tasks, then provide routes to broader information.
Plan navigation around familiar language
School websites often contain terms that make sense internally but are less clear to new or prospective parents. For example, a department name, trust-wide initiative or local abbreviation may not explain what the page contains.
Use labels that describe the visitor’s need.
“Admissions” is usually clearer than “Join Us”. “Parent Information” is more immediately useful than “Families”. “School Meals” is more direct than “Food and Wellbeing”.
This does not mean the website has to sound dull. Headings, photography and visual design can express the school’s character. Navigation has a different job: it should help people move confidently through the site.
A practical main navigation might include:
- About
- Learning
- Admissions
- Parent Information
- News and Events
- Contact
The structure may vary between a nursery, primary school, secondary school and academy trust. The principle remains the same: keep the number of top-level choices manageable and use clear, predictable labels.
Important pages should not be hidden several levels deep. If a visitor needs to open multiple menus to find attendance information or contact details, the structure needs another review.
Separate prospective and current-parent journeys
Prospective parents and current families need different information, even though they may visit the same website.
Someone considering a school may want to understand:
- The school’s values and approach
- Curriculum and enrichment
- Admissions arrangements
- Facilities and location
- Before- and after-school provision
- Open days or visits
- Inspection and performance information
- How the school supports different needs
Current parents may be looking for:
- Term dates
- Letters and forms
- Calendar events
- Uniform and meals
- Attendance procedures
- Clubs and activities
- Contacts for specific issues
- Payment or booking information
Make both journeys obvious. A homepage can introduce the school’s purpose and personality while also offering direct access to practical parent tasks. Calls to action such as “Apply for a place”, “View term dates” or “Report an absence” are more useful than vague prompts such as “Find out more”.
For academy trusts, consider how trust-level information and individual school information work together. Parents should be able to understand which content applies to the trust, which applies to their school and who to contact when they need help.
Give every important page a clear owner
Content ownership is one of the most important parts of school website planning. A well-designed website will still lose trust if key information becomes outdated.
Create a content inventory that records:
| Content area | Owner | Review frequency | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term dates | School office | Each academic year | Confirm and update |
| Admissions | Admissions lead | Before each admissions period | Check guidance and deadlines |
| Policies | Senior leadership or office team | According to policy cycle | Replace superseded versions |
| News and letters | Agreed communications owner | Weekly or as needed | Archive old items |
| Clubs and wraparound care | Club or office lead | Each term | Confirm availability and prices |
| Staff contacts | School office | When roles change | Check names and details |
The owner does not have to write every word. They are responsible for confirming that the information is accurate and flagging changes.
It is also worth defining an approval process. Decide who can publish routine updates, who approves safeguarding or policy content and what happens when an urgent notice is needed outside normal working hours. Without clear responsibilities, updates can wait in someone’s inbox or become dependent on one person.
Make content easy to scan and understand
Parents may be accessing the website quickly between work, travel and family commitments. Pages should help them find the answer without forcing them to read a long block of text.
Use:
- Descriptive headings
- Short paragraphs
- Bulleted lists
- Tables for dates, times or comparisons
- Clear links
- Download labels that explain what a document contains
- Plain English
- Consistent page layouts
For example, a link labelled “Download” gives little context. “Download the 2026–27 term dates” is much more useful.
Put the most important answer near the top of the page. If a page explains how to report an absence, begin with the action parents need to take, followed by relevant times, contact details and further guidance.
Documents should be treated as part of the user experience. Check that PDFs are clearly named, current and usable on mobile devices. If important information only exists in a document, consider whether a short summary should also appear on the webpage.
Build accessibility into the structure
Accessibility should be considered from the beginning of the project rather than checked only at the end. Clear structure benefits everyone, including people using screen readers, keyboard navigation, mobile devices or translation tools.
Good foundations include:
- Logical heading levels
- Descriptive link text
- Strong colour contrast
- Visible keyboard focus
- Form labels and helpful error messages
- Alternative text for meaningful images
- Captions or transcripts where needed
- Content that remains usable when text is enlarged
- Avoiding information conveyed by colour alone
Accessibility also affects content decisions. A page with clear headings and straightforward language is easier for users to understand and easier for technology to interpret. This supports a more reliable experience across devices and assistive tools.
Do not assume that passing an automated check means the website is accessible in every situation. Include manual review, realistic user testing and feedback from people who use the site.
Design for mobile use
Parents are likely to use a school website on a phone, particularly when checking an urgent message, locating a phone number or finding an event time.
Review every key task on a small screen:
- Can the menu be opened easily?
- Are important links large enough to tap?
- Can phone numbers be used directly?
- Are tables readable?
- Do forms work without excessive scrolling?
- Are documents easy to locate and open?
- Does the page remain clear when loaded on a slower connection?
A responsive layout is important, but it is only one part of mobile usability. The order of information, button labels, forms and page length all affect how quickly a parent can complete a task.
Plan for ongoing improvement
A school website should not be considered finished when it launches. Set aside time after launch to review common questions, search terms, feedback and content gaps.
Look for signs that information is difficult to find:
- Parents repeatedly contact the office about the same topic
- Staff share direct links because navigation is unclear
- Important pages receive very little engagement
- Old documents remain prominent
- Parents use the site search for basic information
- A high number of visitors leave key task pages quickly
Use these signals to refine labels, page content and homepage links. Small improvements can make a meaningful difference to the daily experience of families and staff.
A good school website is clear about what matters, easy to navigate and realistic for the organisation to maintain. Start with the questions parents ask, assign responsibility for the answers and build an accessible structure around those needs.
The homepage should introduce the school clearly and provide direct routes to the most important parent tasks. These may include admissions, term dates, attendance, news and letters, contact details, clubs and urgent notices. Prioritise the information visitors need most often rather than displaying every available page.
Review frequency depends on the content. Term dates, admissions guidance, events and club information may need checking each term or academic year. Contact details, urgent notices and staff information should be updated whenever circumstances change. Assign an owner to each important content area.
Test key tasks on a phone, including finding contact details, opening the menu, checking dates, completing forms and accessing documents. Use clear buttons, short sections, readable tables and direct links. Responsive design should be supported by a content structure that works well on smaller screens.
Yes. Clear headings, descriptive links, plain English, readable contrast, labelled forms and meaningful alternative text all help make content more accessible. Accessibility should be included in planning, design, development and ongoing content reviews.
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Get in touch
Planning a new school, nursery or academy trust website? We can help you turn parent needs, content responsibilities and organisational goals into a clear, manageable website plan. Get in touch or call 0161 883 0043.