Bishop Dunne Catholic School

Bishop Dunne’s homepage opens with the feel of a movie trailer, thanks to an action-packed montage of athletics, academics, faith, and community within the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

As visitors move through the homepage, the site explains what sets Bishop Dunne apart. A sliding panel introduces key differentiators, such as its Catholic identity, the experience for middle and high school students, and its Collegiate Institute, all brought to life with motion and the school’s blue-and-red brand colors.

An “Inspiring Future Leaders” section highlights traits like respect, purpose, and integrity through full-width images and supporting copy. Testimonials from students, alumni, and staff add personality and credibility to what it feels like to be part of the Bishop Dunne community. 

Fast facts, campus imagery, and up-to-date news and events add another layer of context, helping visitors quickly understand both the school’s culture and its momentum.

The interior pages pack a lot of information, but the layout creates a nice rhythm between visuals and text.

• Clear calls to action, consistent branding, and intuitive navigation help visitors move through the site with ease.
• Features like accordions and tabs also help organize details on department and program pages, making it easier for mobile browsing.

Wonderful job—the site gives prospective families a fuller picture of the school’s identity, faith, and the full Bishop Dunne experience.

British School Jakarta

Visitors to British School Jakarta’s new site get a strong sense of its programs, community, and global outlook from the start, not to mention some great photography.

A cluster of entry points on the homepage makes the site easy to explore, but it also gives the school a strong way to frame its story of nurturing tomorrow’s global citizens. As users scroll, fast facts are paired with imagery highlighting the scale of the campus, the range of student opportunities, and the diversity of the community.

• There's also special attention to student outcomes with a rotating matriculation list that celebrates university acceptances, and CTAs invite visitors to meet counselors, explore the alumni network, and learn more about life after BSJ.
   
• News, announcements, social media links, and a well-structured footer round out the homepage, giving visitors clear next steps for staying connected.

The content does a nice job of showing what makes the student experience stand out. Visitors can learn about the school’s 300-plus extracurricular opportunities across its 45-acre campus, its leadership in student well-being, and its community of nearly 1,400 students of more than 50 nationalities.

Visually, the site has a lot of character:

• Artistic touches are woven throughout the design, including gradients and background treatments to bring in elements of the local culture and heritage. 
   
• On the interior pages, the design remains consistent and well-organized. Multicolored cards help highlight academic programs, while structured layouts and wireframe graphics help break up dense information.

The design uses branded blues, reds, and greens to show a culture that‘s bright, cohesive, and full of personality. Take a look for yourself— it's a nicely designed and organized site. Well done!

University School of Jackson

University School of Jackson’s new homepage draws visitors in with a mix of bold text treatments and a montage that gives families a quick feel for the school’s focus on academic, artistic, and athletic growth. It’s all centered on "a culture of excellence," a sense of school pride and purpose.

As visitors move down the homepage, the site does a nice job of connecting the school’s brand with its full student experience:

• Red design elements, along with arrows and paw print motifs, guide users into the school’s three divisions.
   
• Core values like honesty, respect, responsibility, and excellence are shown through a full-width rotating slideshow to give a place in the overall story.
   
• A slide-out panel brings up recent news headlines and upcoming calendar events, and in the navigation, a simplified version of the school’s seal adds a subtle but effective branding touch alongside strong photography.

​​​​The homepage continues to build on that story through testimonials and outcomes. In the “Life as a Bruin” section, for example, videos from students and faculty help visitors get a better feel for the community across grade levels and teaching positions. 

• Another standout section, built around the message that "inspiration meets preparation," introduces alumni whose paths show how student interests can grow into long-term purpose. A rotating matriculation slideshow rounds out the experience and reinforces the strength of the school’s college-prep program.

On the interior pages, the user experience stays strong:

• The student life page makes good use of post-based content and mobile-friendly imagery to showcase leadership opportunities, student success, clubs, traditions, and school history.
   
• The admissions sections are especially helpful, with a click-through admissions timeline that walks families through each step of the process, including required documents, visits, and interviews.
   
• The footer also does important work by bringing together some logistical contact details, addresses, phone numbers, helpful links for tuition, careers, and the calendar, plus social media icons. These elements round out the site with strong usability and give visitors the next steps.

Congratulations on the launch!

Monte Vista Christian School

Monte Vista Christian School’s new website arrives at a fitting moment, as the school celebrates its centennial with a digital presence that honors its history and looks toward its future. A strong opening montage builds energy and pride before guiding visitors into the school’s three divisions, helping families quickly understand the structure of the MVC experience and the impact of its last 100 years.

Sections focused on Christ-centered academics, athletics, fine arts, and more help tell a fuller story of what makes the school stand out. Those messages are supported by details about its 100-acre campus and community of 830 students, giving prospective families a better sense of both scale and its setting.

Take a look at:

Testimonials share what it’s like to be part of the community as both a boarding and a day student, adding credibility and warmth to the story. The dedicated boarding life section is especially helpful, providing families with more context on what it means to study, live, and grow in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

• Further down the homepage, news and events help keep the site active, while the campus section and virtual tour invite visitors to picture themselves on campus.
   
• Illustrations of the campus and its California landscape help reinforce a strong sense of place, while Mustang-themed branding adds personality and school spirit throughout the experience.
   
• The interior pages, like Academics, make good use of styling elements such as block quotes, calls to action, post grids, cards, and buttons to keep content organized and engaging. (Love downloadable parent info packet with resources about finding the right school!)
   
• The “We Are MVC” page is another standout, offering value-driven storytelling that gives families a stronger sense of the school’s mission, campus culture, and student experience. 

International Coalition of Girls' Schools

With 580 girls’ schools across 25 countries led by 50,000 educators, ICGS’ site gives visitors a sense of the organization’s reach and purpose: to connect and support a global network focused on what helps girls thrive in education.

Thoughtful branding, helpful navigation, and engaging visuals work together to communicate the scale of the Coalition’s network while also making it easier for visitors to connect with member institutions. Meanwhile, the design reinforces the organization’s identity through branded icons, bold orange accents, and consistent styles for a cohesive visual identity across the site. 

As users scroll, a standout transition expands a single image into a full-width collage of young women engaged in music, sports, arts, and academics, a nice moment that adds a lot of energy and captures the wide range of opportunities the ICGS represents.

The site's loaded with info and resources, including:

• The addition of Ask ICGS, a rebranded AI chatbot from Finalsite, also gives visitors a quick way to find information around the clock, support a smoother user experience, and meet the needs of its community.
   
• The podcast section gives users another way to engage with the Coalition’s ideas and leadership, and its partner pages are well organized with accordions, image sliders, and post-based layouts to make content easier to browse and understand.
   
• Users can also browse the site and learn more about the Girls' School Advantage through the lens of their personas, whether they're a student, parent, advocate, or educator.

The new site is a platform for storytelling, connection, and engagement. Nice work!

Windward School

Based in Los Angeles, Windward leads with the message “Empowering Learning, Strengthening Community,” and that theme comes through clearly in the hero slideshow. Those photographs of everyday moments, like bus rides, musical performances, classroom learning, and campus life, bring a lot of warmth and authenticity for a more genuine feel for the school community.

One of the strongest content sections is the homepage’s “Five Reasons Why Windward,” which introduces key differentiators of the "Windward Way." The site connects those points to outcomes and school experience, highlighting areas like counseling, divisional structure, and community to give prospective families a better sense of what matters most at Windward.

That momentum continues with a student journey section that uses a click-through slideshow to introduce each division. It’s an effective way to speak to families at different grade levels, while student voices and teacher stories add more personality and show visitors how the school shapes growth, connection, and learning across campus.

Further down the page, tabbed content offers a closer look at Windward’s campus and spaces, providing useful context on classrooms, facilities, and other environments designed to support students.

When they’re ready, prospective families can submit an inquiry through a branded Finalsite Enrollment form to collect details about academic interests and athletics, and start their enrollment journey. That creates a much smoother handoff from website visit to enrollment interest, while keeping the experience consistent with the rest of the site.

Interior pages carry that same consistency, with well-designed content blocks and calls to action supporting the experience throughout. The arts pages in particular make strong use of slideshows, while the athletics pages add social media integration and recent sports news through post-based content.

There are several standout supporting pages worth taking a look at:

• The summer programs pages offer a strong array of camp options, with easy access to CampBrain registration, slideshows that highlight offerings, and helpful FAQs.
   
• The careers page is yet another strong example, featuring current openings, tabs for employee benefits, and faculty and staff news that gives visitors a fuller picture of the culture and experience of working at Windward.
   
• The news section gives visitors the ability to filter stories by academics, athletics, or all news, making content easier to browse.

The new design feels cohesive, welcoming, and well-organized. Congratulations to Windward and all the other schools on their site launches with Finalsite!

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. At Finalsite, 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.