You don’t have to be a website expert to know when something online just isn’t working. Maybe you’ve tried ordering dinner, booking a service, or checking a schedule, only to give up because the site was too slow or hard to navigate.

That same kind of frustration is what families feel when a school website doesn’t deliver. They’re asking themselves: Can I find what I need? Does this work on my phone? Is it fast? Does it look trustworthy?

Your school or district’s website is often the first place families go when they’re deciding where to enroll, looking for answers, or catching up on news. If it’s confusing, outdated, or slow, it could turn them away before they ever call or visit.

So what exactly makes a good school website? A great design, yes, but it’s about how well your site works for the people using it—on any device, at any time. Let’s break down what really matters.

What makes a good school website?

1. A unique, accessible design
2. Mobile-first design
3. Fast load times
4. Simple navigation
5. Informative and engaging content
6. It's optimized for search
7. Safe and secure hosting
8. It's powered by a great content management system

Now, let's get into each of these with a bit more detail.

1. A unique, accessible design

Your website’s design is the first impression families get, and it happens very fast. In fact, 94% of first impressions are design-related, which means people are making snap judgments about your school based on how your website looks and feels.

That’s why schools typically redesign their sites every three years or so—to keep up with changing expectations and make sure the design still reflects your school’s values, personality, and community.

However, design isn’t just about being visually appealing. It’s also about being accessible to everyone who visits.

A good school website should:

• Reflect your school’s identity in a modern, clean layout

• Be easy to read and navigate for all users

• Follow accessibility best practices, so families with disabilities can fully access the content

If your website isn’t accessible, families may miss out on important information, or worse, feel excluded. Accessibility supports inclusion, improves usability for everyone, and helps you meet legal requirements, too.

Want to explore more on this topic? Check out:

• 6 Signs That Your School Website Needs A Redesign
• ​Does Your Homepage Answer These 5 Questions?
• Making Website Content Accessible: Who Is Responsible?

2. Mobile-first design

Great design doesn’t just look good—it works well on any device. And with 50–60% of school website traffic coming from mobile, your mobile experience needs to be just as strong as your desktop version.

If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, families will feel it fast:

• 52% of users say a poor mobile experience makes them less likely to engage.

• Mobile users are 5x more likely to abandon a task if the site isn’t optimized.

• 48% say they feel frustrated or annoyed with mobile sites that are hard to use.

So what makes a website mobile-first?

Mobile-first means the site is designed with mobile users in mind from the start, not just adjusted after the fact. Remember:

• Responsive design is reactive; it adapts to screen size.

• Mobile-first design is proactive; it puts mobile usability at the core of the design process.

For example, Davie County Schools in North Carolina uses mobile-first design to help parents find what they need fast. While their desktop site features big images and storytelling, the mobile site leads with large, tappable buttons to prioritize quick access.

Desktop design:

Mobile design:

Want to go deeper on mobile design? These blogs are a good place to start:

• Responsive Vs Mobile-First Design: What’s The Difference?
• 6 Qualities Of Great Mobile-First Design 

3. Fast load times

Nobody likes waiting for a website to load. And when families are trying to find something quickly, like a lunch menu or a school calendar, every second counts.

Here’s what the data shows:

• 40% of visitors will leave if a site takes more than three seconds to load.

• 47% expect a website to load in just two seconds or less.

For schools, slow load times are usually caused by images that are too large or not optimized. But that’s something you can fix with a few small changes.

How to Speed Up Your Site:

• Use the right image size: Don’t upload a 5000-pixel-wide photo if it only needs to display at 500 pixels. Resize before uploading.

• Compress your images: Tools like TinyPNG or Compressor.io can shrink file sizes without hurting quality.

• Use the right format: Upload JPEGs for photos and reserve PNGs for logos or graphics with transparency. PNGs are larger and can slow down your site.

• Stick to 72dpi: This is the ideal resolution for screens. 300dpi is only necessary for print.

• Use fewer images: Too many images on a page can slow things down, even if they’re optimized.

If you’re doing all of the above and your site is still slow, the issue might be how your website is hosted.

At Finalsite, our websites are hosted through Google Cloud and Cloudflare, which means faster load times, better performance on all devices, and protection from traffic spikes or attacks.

4. Simple navigation

If families can’t find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks, they’re likely to give up. That’s why clear, simple navigation is one of the most important parts of a good school website.

A well-structured site helps visitors:

• Find key info quickly (without hunting through dropdowns)

• Stay on your site longer

• Feel confident that your school is organized and thoughtful

It starts with your information architecture—how you organize pages and content to guide people through your site logically.

Tips for Cleaner Navigation:

• Stick to 1–2 clicks: Important content like lunch menus, calendars, and admissions info should never feel buried.

• Keep your main menu short: Aim for no more than 6–8 top-level items.

• Use plain language: Families shouldn’t have to guess what “Learning Pathways” or “Engagement Resources” means.

• Include a utility nav: Add quick links to things like portals, directories, and calendars.

• Make search obvious: A clear, front-and-center search bar helps visitors find what they need fast, just like they would on Google or Amazon.

For larger sites, like those in big public school districts, this is even more important. Richfield Public Schools in MN does this well by using a fixed, left-hand navigation bar that stays simple, even with a lot of content.

Not sure if your site’s navigation is working?

• Make a list of common questions parents ask, and try finding the answers yourself.

• Use your analytics. If certain pages have low traffic, they may be hard to find. 

5. Informative and engaging content

Design gets people to your website, but content is what keeps them there. And more importantly, it’s what helps them decide to trust your school.

Your content should clearly answer questions, highlight what makes your school different, and guide people toward the next step—whether that’s applying, contacting your school, or simply staying informed.

What Counts as Website Content?

• Visual content: Photos, videos, graphics, infographics

• Written content: Headlines, body text, calls-to-action, lists, news, blogs

That may sound obvious, but here’s what often gets missed: Families don’t read everything. They scan. Especially on mobile. That’s why your content should be easy to skim, even for someone quickly scrolling on their phone.

Tips for Better Content:

• Use clear headings: They break up sections and help users find key info fast.

• Add bullets and lists: Short, structured content is easier to digest than long paragraphs.

• Use callouts and font styles: Bold text, color accents, and larger fonts can help highlight important messages (but don’t overdo it).

• Stick to one idea per section: Trying to say too much at once makes it harder to follow.

One example of this in action: Duke School's academics uses headings, color accents, and callouts on its academic pages to highlight key content without overwhelming the page

For more on website content strategy, you'll want to read:

• The Anatomy Of The Perfect Admissions Inquiry School Landing Page
• 6 Simple Changes To Enhance Your Website's News Section
• How To Create Content For Your School’s Website 

6. It's optimized for search

You can have the best-looking, most helpful school website, but if families can’t find it in search, it’s not doing its job.

That’s where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. SEO helps your site appear at the top of search results when families type things like “private schools near me” or “best elementary schools in [your town].”

And yes, SEO affects the user experience, because it shapes how families first discover you.

Why SEO Matters for Schools:

• It brings in prospective families who didn’t already know about you.

• It helps returning families quickly find pages like lunch menus, calendars, or contact info.

• It improves how search engines like Google read and rank your content.

Simple Ways to Improve Your School's SEO:

• Use clear, keyword-friendly page titles like “Tuition and Financial Aid” instead of vague terms.

• Include headings (H1s, H2s) that organize content and include relevant keywords.

• Add alt text to images for accessibility and search value.

• Make sure your site is fast and mobile-friendly—these are key ranking factors.

• Regularly update your content so it stays fresh and relevant.

SEO doesn’t have to be complex, but it does need attention. A little effort goes a long way in making sure your school shows up in the searches that matter most.

Want to go deeper?

• SEO For Schools: Strategies For A Page 1 Ranking
• Getting Found In Search: Understanding Millennial Search Behaviors
• Why SEO Matters To Your District Brand: Put Your Best Foot Forward
• On-Page SEO: 10 Best Practices You Should Know 

7. Safe and secure hosting

Families trust your website with important information, from forms and documents to account logins. That trust depends on having a site that’s not only fast but also safe and secure.

Unfortunately, cyberattacks on schools are becoming more common, and a slow or unprotected site puts your community—and your reputation—at risk.

What Secure Hosting Protects:

• Private family and student data

• Online forms and payment portals

• Access to portals and login areas

• Your site’s uptime and reliability

A secure hosting provider helps protect your site from things like DDoS attacks (which overwhelm your site with fake traffic) and other threats that could take your site offline or expose data.

At Finalsite, school websites are protected with:

• Google Cloud hosting for speed and reliability

• Cloudflare security to block threats and keep your site running smoothly—even during high traffic or attempted attacks

• Redundant infrastructure so your site stays online, no matter what

Whether you're a small private school or a large district, secure hosting isn't a nice-to-have—it’s essential.

8. It's powered by a great content management system

A good school website isn’t just about how it looks on the outside—it’s about how easy it is to manage behind the scenes.

That’s where your content management system (CMS) comes in. The CMS is the tool your team uses to update pages, post news, add events, and keep everything current. If it’s clunky, slow, or hard to use, your website will fall behind, no matter how great the design is.

A Strong CMS Should:

• Be easy to use, even if you’re not tech-savvy

• Let multiple users update content with role-based permissions

• Make editing fast and flexible with drag-and-drop tools

• Help you schedule content and keep it organized

• Integrate with your calendar, forms, and other tools

When your CMS works with you—not against you—you can keep your site updated, accurate, and engaging without the stress.

At Finalsite, our CMS, Composer, is built specifically for schools. It gives you the flexibility and control to manage your site easily—so you can spend less time editing and more time connecting with families.

Key Takeaway

From fast load times and mobile-first design to strong SEO and secure hosting, every part of your site plays a role in helping families connect with your school. And when your content is easy to find, scan, and trust, your website becomes a powerful tool for engagement and enrollment.

Whether you're planning a redesign or looking for ways to improve what you already have, now’s the time to make sure your site supports your goals—and your community.

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.