Is Your School Website Ready for the Challenges Ahead?
Extended closures and remote learning have become the new reality for millions of students and teachers across the country this spring. If public health officials are right, schools may need to be ready for successive waves of closures for some time to come. Now is the time to make sure your school website is ready for whatever the future brings.
During extended closures, school websites work harder than ever. But many school websites are not ready for the task. They may not be accessible for students and parents with disabilities or visitors using mobile devices. Or perhaps they are simply too difficult and time-intensive for web administrators to manage in an era where rapidly shifting events demand frequent website updates and emergency alerts.
Some website issues can be resolved by simply cleaning up old content and adjusting navigation schemes. But sometimes it's best to ditch what you have and start over. Here are six signs that it's time to start looking for a new school website CMS.
1. Your Website Isn't ADA and Section 508 Compliant
Is content on the site easily accessible for people with visual, auditory or mobility challenges? Ensuring that content is accessible to everyone is critical during extended closures. Your website CMS should have built-in accessibility features that make it easier for visitors using keyboard navigation or screen readers to navigate and access content on your site. While you'll still have to take steps to ensure that all of the content you add to the site is accessible, your CMS should have the tools you need to ensure accessibility without third-party add-ons.
2. Your Website Doesn't Play Well With Mobile
A majority of website visitors are now using mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets to navigate the web. That is especially true for many students and families stuck at home without a computer or reliable Wi-Fi. For these families, a cell phone may be their primary connection to online resources. Can visitors using these devices access all of the content on your site? How does the site look and function on a smartphone? A modern school website CMS should be natively responsive so that it looks great and works well on any device.
3. It Takes Too Much Time to Update Your Site
During an extended closure, you’ll probably be updating information frequently—perhaps even daily. How much time and effort does it take for site managers to update content or make other necessary changes to the site? How much training or programming knowledge is required? Your site should be easy to build, manage, and maintain, even for people with little or no web programming background. Look for a school website CMS with features like drag-and-drop navigation, intuitive page layout tools, and design themes that make it easy to control the look and feel of your site. Adding content, changing navigation, and updating your design theme should be quick and simple so your CMS is not a barrier to keeping your site up-to-date.
4. You Are Missing Key Functionality for Your Website
Schools and districts have unique needs when it comes to websites. These include living school and district calendars; news feeds with current events and reminders; staff, class and group directories that can be easily and automatically updated; class and group pages that can be easily maintained by individual teachers, coaches, and department heads; and emergency alerts and mobile notifications. Your school website CMS should include the features you need to make your life easier and make your website a hub for communication with your community, whether students are back in class or trying to stay connected remotely.
5. Your Site Looks Outdated
Many school websites still look like they are stuck in the early 2000s—or even the 90s! If your website looks and feels outdated, you're not projecting the right image to your community. Look for a website CMS with modern design themes that fit the image you want for your school or district.
6. You're Not Getting the Support You Need
What kind of support does your school CMS provider offer? Your website vendor should be your partner in creating and maintaining a great school website. Basic support should be included in your website subscription and include direct access to someone you can call for help. If you are struggling with your CMS and your provider doesn't have any available assistance, it may be time for a switch. Look for a vendor who offers the support options you need, whether that means content migration, website optimization services, or training for site administrators and teachers.
Your School Website Should Be Ready for Anything
No one can predict what the next school year will look like, but if the current COVID-19 emergency has taught us anything, it is that schools must be flexible, adaptable and ready for anything. Your school website should be, too. If your current website doesn’t meet the criteria above, it may be time to consider a change.
Contact us to learn more about our school website CMS, emergency notification system, and website support services. We can have you up and running with a new website in just a few weeks—even if your team is all working from home! We do the heavy lifting to make website transition easy for you.