School Website Features - a list of 18 Must haves and 12 Can haves

December 22, 2023

A list of 18 must have and 12 can have school website features - and why you do not need everything.

Contents

1. Must Haves
   1. News blog
   2. More must have features
   3. Links to further features and examples
2. Can Haves
3. Must have and can have school website features in conclusion

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Must Haves

Most of the must have school website features is "static" information which is displayed by pictures, texts and downloadable files. To this belong:

News blog

A news blog to describe in text and show in pictures all the wonderful pupils, teachers and parents and what brilliant things they have done in your school. The more news blog entries you have the more lively your website appears. And the more visitors you will have, since they love news.

More must have features

• pictures and galleries, to make your website colourful and full of life
• school curriculum
• location and map, for easily finding your school
• admission information for new students, so that it is easy to become a new student
• information for current parents, e.g. curriculum, important dates
• calendar of events
• downloadable forms, e.g. to inform about a new address or phone number
• showcasing the work of students, e.g. by an art gallery
• about us, to inform about the school's portfolios, vision and mission
• courses/programs the school offers
• contact details
• staff directory with contact and subjects
• simple navigation and easy-to-find answers
• accessibility with mobile devices, since most visitors nowadays use a mobile device to visit your school website
• documents & links to websites with relevant information
• site search to find information easily
• teaching pupils how to use a website builder for webdesign and how to work in a group of peers

Links to further features and examples

• Gov.uk: What academies, free schools and colleges should publish online
• Wikipedia: School Website
• https://fourtencreative.com/school-websites-7-essential-features/
• https://www.schoolwebmasters.com/Website_Features
• https://www.educationalnetworks.net/school-website-features.jsp

Can Haves

Many can have school website features are interactive, which means that you interact with a data system to give or get some information. All this can also be done without data, but sometimes interaction can have an advantage if it is easy to use.

• Student Information System (SIS)
• online polls and forms
• social media integration
• secure log-in pages
• online assignments
• food menu
• online payments for school trips and lunches etc.
• parent's day management
• elearning platform
• substitution plan
• classroom management
• real time alerts / notification
• contact for former students/alumni

Must have and can have school website features in conclusion

All in all, it is not easy to think of all necessary features for your school website, so it helps to take a rest and make a list of things.

However, to add all the necessary features to your school website is a matter of static features. Everything you really need will be integrated in form of text, pictures and downloadable documents. If you have the money or skills to add more interactive features, you will get to the section of "can have" features. This also means that to create a school website with all the necessary features, you do not have to spend too much money of only 1,500 Euro, this can be done with a simple website builder like Jimdo or simple school website templates with html and css. Thus website building for free is possible and easy, too.

So this is why you do not need all possible features you can buy or create yourself.