The Finalsite Blog

A good school website has 8 key components including accessible, mobile-first design, great content, secure hosting, and more.

Whether you’re preparing to redesign your entire site or simply want to freshen things up, here are the design trends you should be considering. 

Discover how to create the perfect pitch and build support for your school or district’s new website by knowing what to say and asking the right questions.

Having good clean data at your school leads to less headaches, happier IT and better school to home communication. In this webinar recap we share how the International School of London has replaced manual data processes with data integration between Finalsite and iSAMS.

Recruiting quality teachers will only get harder with a projected shortage in the coming years. Following the tips in this blog will help ensure you are attracting the best, most-qualified candidates. 

It’s almost 2021 and a chance to start fresh. Kickoff the new year with these quick website improvements and drive engagement this spring.

The first place prospective and current families go to learn about your district is your website — learn how to make it the best representation of your brand.

Sandy Spring Friends School’s very first virtual open house was a smashing success — with nearly 200 registered families and a 68% attendance rate. Get a behind-the-scenes look at their strategy! 

Check out the beautiful new school websites launched in November 2020!

Your recent virtual open house was a success, but you’ll need to develop an effective follow-up strategy to engage and convert your prospective families. 

Whether this is your first #GivingTuesday, or you're a seasoned veteran, here are the top nine ways to make the most of this year's campaign.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Cristina and Rob discuss why schools are creating communications hubs this year and why they will continue to be an essential part of the Digital Campus. 

From social media to emails and events, let's dive into what your school can do to celebrate your community during the holidays!

Check out the incredible websites launched in the month of October!

Are you thinking about a new website? Don't let these common hurdles hold you back!

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Cristina and Rob discuss an important question: Why should your school or district have both an app and responsive website?

Website guru Jenn Settle dives into nineteen (yes, nineteen!) content formatting errors that can interfere with user experience and search engine optimization. 

Finalsite offers more than 20 Theme design websites created for schools working on a tight budget or timeline. To help inspire you, we’ve come up with five tips based on our recent launches to help you get the most out of your theme design websites.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Cristina and Rob discuss an important question: Why does hosting location matter?  Listen in to learn about Google Cloud and Cloudflare, and what impact locations can have on your website. 

Virtual open houses allow your school to reach more families earlier on in the funnel — check out these great examples!

The power of a your website's first impression is longer-lasting than you think. Use these carefully-curated expert tips to enhance your district site.

Use this top seven list to build the essential pages of your digital campus— with examples from schools and districts to inspire you along the way!

Amazing photography can be accomplished on a budget and brings your website to life. Get inspired by these 8 schools and districts doing it right!

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Cristina and Rob discuss an important question: Is data on open source websites safe? Listen in for everything you need to know about your school's data protection on open source platforms!

Check out these brand new school websites launched in September 2020!

Pandemic or not, the best way to prepare for uncertainty is to build your communications plan around what you do know, what you think you know, and leave room for the unexpected.

Email inbox activity is up 22% — so how can you cut through the noise in those inboxes? Follow these strategies for a clickable subject line!

In a survey taken by our 2020 Summer Camp attendees, school professionals noted their four biggest social media barriers. Learn how to tackle each one!

Dive into eight thought-provoking communication benchmarks from our survey report with NSPRA.

In episode 11 of The School Marketing Show Live, Mia Major and Kristen Doverspike discussed the findings of InspirED's 2020 Private School MarCom Report with InspirED's Rob Norman. 

Learn how International School of Luxembourg and the Bavarian International School use Google Classroom and Finalsite to streamline communications with remote learning. 

Facebook allows schools to reach prospective and current students where they are already spending their time, interacting with family, friends, and brands, keeping up with news, sharing content, and more.

Learn how shortening and simplifying your online admissions forms can lead to a direct increase in form submissions and drive inquiry traffic up.

Learn ten things your school or district should stop, start, and keep doing with your email communications through our simple five-step process to create stand-out emails.

Check out these brand new school websites launched in August 2020!

Responding to social media comments is key to uniting your community — here are our top tips for doing it right.

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Rob and Christina talk about the emergence of HTTP/3 and how this newer technology will increase website speeds and efficiency for schools of all sizes around the world.

Your school's homepage has always been a critical factor in engagement. But now more than ever, your ability to answer these 5 questions quickly will play a substantial role in your success online.

Inbound marketing is more than another buzzword. It is an essential strategy for independent schools.

Feeling uninspired by the lack of positive news to share in your school or district's newsletters? Use this opportunity to re-invent what "newsletter" means to your school and create your best emails ever with these 10 ideas!

Advertising is only as good as the strategy behind it. Avoid these mistakes to save money and improve ROI!

In this episode of Tech Tuesday, Rob and Christina talk about website speed, how schools can better utilize their internet speed, how design choices impact speed, the impact of Google Maps, and how a CDN like Cloudflare can help.

Check out these brand new school websites launched in July 2020!

Planning your virtual admissions events? Start with the inbound marketing funnel.

To effectively showcase your school or district’s curriculum offerings online, you’ll need three key parts within your website’s academics section.

A virtual event isn't a "less-awesome" version of your traditional in-person event — it's a unique opportunity to leverage! Learn how with this 10-step guide.

From improving the “About us” page to highlighting how transportation will work while social distancing, do not forget these essential website pages for your school’s website.

Make your district stakeholders happy and informed by sending them targeted, personalized and visual emails with these 10 tips for success.