2019 Trending Features from the Best School District Websites
Communication between school and home is improving everyday. Nowhere is this more evident than in the continuing improvements being made to school district websites. We’ve collected some of the most popular features requested for school district websites so far this year!
Trending district homepage features on the best school district websites
The best school district websites serve as the center of communication between school and home. Having provided numerous school districts with powerful CMS tools, we have found that there are certain homepage features that serve as the bread and butter for the best school district websites.
First, a quick introduction from the superintendent or head administrator describing the mission and values of the district provides visitors with an instant idea of what your school district is all about. An introduction like this can make prospective parents instantly feel welcome and connected with district leaders. This introduction can take the form of a quick quotation or short video similar to the one at the bottom of Moreno Valley’s school district website.
Secondly, a drop-down menu with links to all of the unique schools in the district is often requested to assist parents who want to get more detailed information about their child’s individual school. A drop down menu also gives visitors an idea of the size of the district.
Finally, non-discrimination or ADA policy links placed in the footer of the homepage have been requested more and more recently. Adhering to ADA and non-discrimination guidelines is becoming more important than ever, and now there are tools that make each page of your website accessible to everyone in the district. By including a link describing your district’s policies, you can put visitors at ease that each of their accessibility needs will be met.
Features designed with administrators in mind
Multi-site management as a whole is being sought after by school districts across the country. This CMS tool allows administrators to efficiently post on all school sites from a centralized location while ensuring that the district’s brand is being consistent on all websites representing the district. With this feature, the whole IT team is no longer needed to keep up with all school websites in a district. Rather, with just a few clicks, one individual can keep each website up-to-date.
Administrators have so many responsibilities, but thankfully the best school district websites have a few tools that make their job simpler. One of the highly regarded features is the announcement tool which allows administrators to push news across each school website in a district. Instead of manually sending the same message individually to each school, an announcement tool like Edlio’s helps you to design, build, and send important messages with just a few clicks.
Features designed with teachers in mind
Speaking of school leaders with many responsibilities, teachers also find Edlio’s features to be a huge time-saver. The first, and probably most celebrated feature with teachers, is the teacher pages module. Teachers can post announcements, homework, or other documents right to their individual pages. Parents subscribed to their class can receive updates each evening or throughout the day. Further, if teachers are currently using Google Classroom, some school CMS providers, Edlio included, fully integrate with every teacher’s Google Classroom platform.
For any of you with teaching experience, you’ll know how on some days, it can feel like you’ve posted mountains of handouts or documents. Thankfully, unlimited data is now offered on many school district websites, setting teachers’ minds at ease while posting the 10th form of the day.
Multi-site navigation made easy
Once a parent or other stakeholder enters a school district’s website, it’s important to keep their attention and direct them quickly to what it is they are looking for. The best school district websites now have some popular features designed to do just this.
Breadcrumbs, the best solution to site navigation, are now available on many school district sites provided by Edlio and other CMS providers. Going from a district website to an individual school website to another page within the school website can leave a parent’s head spinning when trying to get back to the homepage. With breadcrumbs, there is a visual trail at the top of each page showing visitors each page they visited in order to get to where they are with links to travel back to each location.
If your school district website is missing one of these innovative features, feel free to reach out to an Edlio expert to give your district the website update it needs!