The bad news is that the holidays are over, and the cold, dark days of winter are here. January saw many impressive new sites go live, and whether they were beautifully designed themes or fully custom designs, these schools injected some much-needed inspiration and excitement into their winters, as well as their online presence.

Let’s check out some recent launches and see how these schools are beating the winter blues and using their new sites to boost engagement, highlight what makes them special, and make a great start to 2025.

Find your inspiration for this year and beyond!

Cardigan Mountain School

Cardigan Mountain School, a boarding and day school in New Hampshire, has launched its new website, and it beautifully captures the essence of its mission: helping middle school boys learn, play, grow, discover, and lead.

Dynamic text animations draw users in and call out the central focus of the "Cardigan Way," the school's approach to structure, independence, and support, empowering young men to develop into leaders. Those themes are brought to life through a lot of great imagery and impressive differentiators, presented in full-width panels with text animations and visuals that animate smoothly as users scroll. There's a lot more to explore:

• The site features video testimonials from students, offering a look into their experiences with teachers, advisors, and the close-knit community at Cardigan.
   
• Social media integration and "fast facts" provide a quick overview of the school's impressive resources, including its 525-acre campus, 40 sports teams, and diverse student body representing 18 countries.
   
• The branding is well-represented, with a comfortable balance of whites, greens, and pops of yellow in the imagery, text treatments, and calls to action (CTAs).
   
• Pop-out posts from members of the student life team allow visitors to get to know the adults who guide and support the boys, and thanks to the consistent layouts from page to page, the user experience is seamless and intuitive.

Student Life and Community

As a boarding school, Cardigan Mountain School places a strong emphasis on student life, and the site offers a dedicated section that goes into what it's like to live and learn on campus. A "day in the life" feature provides a glimpse into the daily routines, while CTAs encourage visitors to explore traditions, student activities, and residential life in more detail.

A Hub for Parents

The website also serves as a practical resource for parents, thanks to a comprehensive section designed specifically for families. It’s easy to access news posts, athletic schedules and scores, a calendar of upcoming family events, information about tuition and payments, and other helpful parent resources. Plus, recent social media posts keep parents connected to the latest happenings at Cardigan—it’s a one-stop shop for parents seeking information and connection.

Henderson Collegiate

Henderson Collegiate, a tuition-free charter school serving 1,300 students, has launched its new website. You’ll quickly see that its mission is rooted in empowering students, and the design and content are laser-focused on the school’s core goal: preparing students for college and success in life.

That strategic messaging is woven nicely throughout the site with bold typography, supporting imagery, and strong branding, partly due to Henderson's partnership with Finalsite’s strategic marketing consultants to create a compelling user experience and messaging strategy.

Features and Highlights Include:

• Homepage features: The homepage has a little of everything: a highlight video, fast facts, testimonials, and a beautiful timeline feature that tells the story of "the Pride," which began in 2010 with its first 100 students.
   
• Clear Calls to Action: Website notifications keep users informed about the latest admission events and enrollment deadlines, making it easy for prospective families to take the next step.
   
• Mission and Values: A dedicated page details the school's mission and values, incorporating powerful testimonials, a compelling video, and notable accolades. 
   
• Inspiring Careers Page: The careers page not only details the logistics of the hiring process but also emphasizes the mission and purpose behind teaching at Henderson. Profiles of current teachers, video interviews with staff, and social media integration from the school’s accounts provide an engaging look at what it’s like to be part of the team.
   
• Enhanced Information and Accessibility: The new site features a staff directory with photos, names, roles, and school assignments; school-wide calendars for academics, nutrition, and athletics; and easy-to-access parent portals. Improved accessibility features and smart language translations help make the site more inclusive and user-friendly for everyone.

Congrats on the launch!

Western Academy of Beijing

The Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), a leading international school in China with 1,400 students and world-class facilities, has launched its beautiful, best-in-class website!

As shared on its site, WAB undertook this project to better reflect its growth and evolution as an innovative school with a fresh look and vibrant colors—a significant step in showcasing the learning and student experience.

More features include:

• Student Voice and Ownership: The site features increased student representation, especially in the school section videos. The "How We Learn" pages for each school section offer a unique "Parent View" and "Student View," with tailored information for both audiences, and it’s worth noting that much of the High School content was created by the High School Student Ambassadors Club.
   
• Community Input: The WAB community played a vital role in shaping the new website. Feedback from parents, staff, and students, gathered through focus groups as part of the overall brand refresh, included requests for easier access to calendars, consolidating information onto one site, and ensuring the website reflected the WAB of today and tomorrow.
   
• Enhanced User Experience: The updated features include several design enhancements to support the user experience, like improved navigation so families can find the information they need, which reflects WAB’s innovative, China-engaged, and student-centered approach.

St. Mary's Episcopal School

St. Mary's Episcopal School has launched its new website, and it's really a celebration of the power and potential of young women. The homepage hero section immediately makes a strong impression, pairing striking imagery with bold statements like "joyful," "confident," "fun," "bright," "champions," and "limitless." They all work toward painting a vivid picture of the school's focus on providing an “unparalleled” educational experience for girls.

Scrolling down the homepage, there’s a dynamic horizontal slideshow highlighting St. Mary's key differentiators, all framed around the idea of "Positioned for Her." From there, users can easily navigate to specific sections for each division, explore recent news stories, or watch inspiring video testimonials from students.

A compelling page dedicated to "Why Choose an All-Girls School?" reinforces the benefits of St. Mary’s, like the development of confidence, nurturing a strong sense of belonging, and preparing girls to become leaders who embrace challenges. A prominent CTA near the bottom of the homepage—“You Belong Here. Take the Next Step”—encourages visitors to connect with the school—love it!

The interior pages of the website are thoughtfully organized, using images and supporting text arranged in clean, grid-like layouts. Visitors will find a lot of information about campus life, auxiliary programs, parent associations, and a detailed "About" section that goes into the school's core values of honor, courage, and faith. 

This section also highlights St. Mary's long-standing leadership in girls' education, not just in Tennessee but for nearly 180 years—long before women had the right to vote. The website's language and positioning statements are powerful—"Girls are tenacious. Girls are motivated. Girls are empowered."—reinforce the school's belief in the potential of its students. Wonderful job!

Whitfield School

The Whitfield School has launched its new website, which immediately establishes the school's focus on exploration, innovation, and experience for grades 6-12 in St. Louis.

The homepage prominently features these key themes, underscoring that learning is something you can engage with using all your senses. Scroll a bit further, and pop-up testimonials from a diverse range of voices—students, parents, alumni, and even leadership—offer helpful perspectives on the Whitfield experience.

The layout features a refreshing and modern one-third design that keeps its appeal even on mobile devices. The school's signature green is used well throughout the site, from content sections CTAs to navigation menus and text treatments. Secondary colors are strategically used to make additional admission-focused CTAs stand out.

The news section is user-friendly, with filterable posts that allow visitors to easily search for content related to athletes of the week, thought-provoking articles, and the latest stories from the school.

Showcasing the success of its graduates is clearly a priority, and those features are supported by extensive content dedicated to alumni, like its alumni spotlight page, which shares inspiring profiles of past students and highlights the formative experiences they had at Whitfield.

Congratulations to Whitfield and all the other amazing sites that went live with Finalsite this January!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. As Finalsite’s Senior Content Marketing Manager, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.