A school website checklist should cover nine essential areas: audience needs, navigation, admissions journeys, content, mobile usability, accessibility, technical performance and system integrations. For international and bilingual schools, it should also evaluate Chinese-language content, network reliability, enquiry workflows and parent-facing services.
A school website is more than a digital brochure. It is often where a prospective family first evaluates your school, begins an admissions enquiry and decides whether the experience feels clear and trustworthy. It should also support admissions, marketing and IT teams through secure forms, measurable journeys and dependable integrations.
At a glance
The quick school website checklist
- ✓Clear school proposition
- ✓Mobile-friendly journeys
- ✓Visible admissions pathways
- ✓Short enquiry forms
- ✓Current fees and requirements
- ✓Bilingual navigation
- ✓Fast, dependable access
- ✓Accessible content
- ✓Secure data collection
- ✓CRM and SIS integration
01
Strategy and audience
A school website strategy defines who the website serves, what visitors need to accomplish and which actions support the school’s enrolment goals.
Start with purpose, not pages. A prospective parent comparing schools needs a different journey from a current parent looking for a calendar or portal.
- Define the primary audiences
Name the priority groups—prospective families, relocating families, students, staff and the current community—and the task each group needs to complete.
- Explain the school clearly
A new visitor should understand the school type, curriculum, year levels, location and defining value within a few moments.
- Choose a primary conversion
Decide whether the website should prioritise enquiries, campus visits or applications, then make that next step consistent. Keep public discovery focused while giving current families a direct route to operational services.
03
Admissions journey
A school admissions website should help families understand eligibility, explore the school, submit an enquiry, book a visit and begin an application without contacting the school for basic information.
Admissions is a connected journey. Each page should answer the current question and make the next step obvious.
- Show clear Enquire, Visit and Apply actions
Use distinct calls to action and explain what happens after each one.
- Explain requirements and steps
Publish age guidance, documents, key dates and a simple view of the application process.
- Keep early forms short
Only ask for information the admissions team needs at that stage, especially on mobile.
- Confirm the next step
After submission, show a useful confirmation and set an expectation for response time.
- Connect forms to the admissions CRM
Create or update a family record automatically and retain the source, campaign and enquiry context.
04
Content and trust
Trustworthy school content is current, specific and supported by real people, campus details, learning evidence and consistent contact information.
Families are making a high-consideration decision. Polished language helps, but proof and clarity matter more.
- Keep leadership, contacts and campus details current
Assign an owner and review dates so changes do not leave contradictory information across the site.
- Answer real curriculum questions
Explain the programme, language support, transitions and student experience in terms families can understand.
- Show authentic evidence of school life and outcomes
Use authorised school photography, meaningful captions, current stories, accreditation, student work and carefully contextualised data to support claims.
05
Mobile experience
A mobile-friendly school website keeps text readable, navigation simple, controls easy to tap and forms practical to complete on a small screen and slower connection.
Do not stop at a responsive preview. Complete the main family journeys on real devices.
- Read every key page on a phone
Check line length, headings, tables, pop-ups and embedded content without zooming.
- Test buttons, menus and forms by touch
Controls need comfortable spacing, visible focus and input types suited to email, phone and dates.
- Control image and video weight
Serve appropriately sized media and avoid making large video downloads a requirement for understanding the page.
06
Multilingual and Chinese-language experience
For multilingual schools, a website review should test Chinese and English journeys, localised content, network reliability, third-party services and whether every language feeds the same admissions workflow.
A site can work perfectly in one office and fail for a family on another city’s mobile network. Treat access and language as end-to-end journeys.
- Pair equivalent language pages
Language switching should retain page context. Avoid sending a visitor back to the homepage.
- Localise rather than translate literally
Adapt programme explanations, terminology and calls to action for the questions each audience actually asks.
- Test real-world access
Check key pages across representative locations, networks and devices; verify fonts, maps, video and third-party embeds independently.
- Unify bilingual enquiries
Chinese and English submissions should enter one defined admissions process without duplicate manual entry.
- Place local communication options thoughtfully
Offer channels such as WeChat where useful, while preserving clear ownership, consent and follow-up.
07
Accessibility
An accessible school website provides meaningful alternatives, logical structure, sufficient contrast and complete keyboard access so more people can understand and use it.
Accessibility improves usability for everyone, including visitors on mobile, using translation tools or navigating in a second language.
- Use meaningful alt text and captions
Describe the purpose of informative images; mark decorative images appropriately and caption video.
- Keep headings and links descriptive
Use one clear H1, a logical heading hierarchy and link text that makes sense out of context.
- Verify keyboard access and contrast
Navigate menus, modals and forms without a mouse, and check text and controls against their backgrounds.
- Label fields and errors clearly
Do not rely on placeholder text. Connect errors to the affected field and explain how to resolve them.
08
Performance, security and SEO
A technically sound school website loads reliably, protects submitted data, gives search engines clear page information and measures the actions that matter to admissions.
Technical quality should be monitored over time, not treated as a one-off launch task.
- Use HTTPS and secure data handling
Document where form data is stored, who can access it, how long it is retained and how permissions are reviewed.
- Optimise page speed
Compress images, reduce unnecessary scripts and test key templates on realistic mobile conditions.
- Give every important page clear search signals
Use a unique title and description, one descriptive H1, indexable content and an up-to-date XML sitemap. Monitor broken links and preserve useful redirects when pages change.
- Measure meaningful conversions
Track enquiries, visit bookings and application starts—not only page views—and validate analytics after releases.
09
Integrations and operations
School website integrations should move accurate data into the right system, prevent duplicates, preserve attribution and alert an accountable owner when something fails.
The website is usually the front door to a wider operating environment: admissions CRM, SIS, parent portal, email and reporting.
For a deeper review of ownership, workflow and system hand-offs, use our admissions CRM guide for international schools.
- Map the system of record
Decide which platform owns prospect, applicant, student and family data before connecting forms.
- Define CRM and SIS hand-offs
Document when records move between the admissions CRM and systems such as PowerSchool, including field mapping and consent.
- Separate the public site and parent portal
Make their roles distinct while providing a direct, dependable sign-in route for current families.
- Handle duplicates and integration errors
Set matching rules, log failures and notify a named owner with enough context to act.
Sources and methodology
How this checklist was prepared
The checklist combines Infocare’s school website and system-integration work with established web accessibility and performance guidance. It is a practical review framework, not a certification or legal-compliance assessment.
Common questions
School website checklist FAQ
What should a school website include?
A school website should include clear programme information, admissions requirements, fees or fee guidance, campus details, contact information, safeguarding information, current news and clear enquiry and application pathways. International schools may also need multilingual content and access for families relocating from overseas.
How often should a school website be updated?
Operational information should be updated whenever it changes. High-traffic admissions and programme pages should have a named owner and a scheduled review at least each term, while technical, security and accessibility checks should be monitored continuously.
How do you audit a school website?
Start with the priority audiences and tasks, then test complete journeys on desktop and mobile. Review content accuracy, accessibility, performance, search visibility, data handling and integrations. Record each check with a status, priority, owner and next action.
Does a school website need to integrate with a CRM?
It is not mandatory, but a well-designed integration can reduce manual entry, preserve enquiry source data, improve follow-up and give admissions teams a clearer view of conversion. The integration still needs duplicate rules, consent handling and failure alerts.
A clearer next step
Not sure how your school website performs?
Infocare can review your admissions journey, mobile experience, bilingual content, network reliability and system integrations.
Request a Website Review