The 15 Best School Websites of 2023 (And What You Can Learn From Them)

Your school‘s website is one of your most important marketing and communications tools. It‘s often the first point of contact for prospective students and their families, and a key resource for current students, parents, alumni, and staff. An effective school website must be visually appealing, easy to navigate, informative, and reflective of your unique school brand and culture.

In fact, research shows that 94% of prospective students say the website influences their opinion of the institution (Thinking Cap Agency, 2022). 50% of prospective students say the quality of a school‘s website affects their decision to apply (Ruffalo Noel Levitz, 2021). And 66% of parents say they use the school website on a weekly basis to stay informed and engaged (Blackbaud, 2022).

In other words, having a great school website isn‘t optional – it‘s essential. But what exactly does a top-notch school website look like? To help you benchmark your own site and gather inspiration for your next redesign, we‘ve compiled a list of the 15 best school websites of 2023.

These sites stand out for their beautiful design, engaging content, intuitive user experience, and smart functionality. While they represent a variety of school types and sizes, they all use their websites strategically to attract, inform, and delight their target audiences. Let‘s dive in and see what we can learn from these exemplary school sites.

1. Avenues: The World School

Avenues: The World School is a top-tier private school with campuses in New York City, São Paulo, Shenzhen, and Online. Their website perfectly embodies the school‘s global, forward-thinking approach to education.

Key elements:

• Immersive, full-screen video backgrounds that transport visitors to Avenues‘ campuses around the world
• Clean, modular layout with ample whitespace that feels modern and sophisticated
• Minimalist navigation that keeps the focus on the visuals and key content
• Subtle animations and transitions that add visual interest without being distracting

2. The Foote School

The Foote School is an independent K-9 school in New Haven, Connecticut. Their colorful, playful website captures the joy and energy of their tight-knit school community.

Key elements:

• Bright, bold color palette that feels youthful and energetic
• Whimsical illustrations and patterns used throughout the design
• Smiling photos of students and teachers that convey warmth and friendliness
• Intuitive mega navigation that helps users quickly access information for their specific audience (prospective families, current families, etc.)

3. Morehouse College

Morehouse College, a historically Black men‘s liberal arts college in Atlanta, has a website that radiates prestige, purpose, and passion. The design is an effective marketing tool that builds pride among current students and alumni while making a compelling case to prospective students.

Key elements:

• Powerful, impactful headlines and calls-to-action (CTAs) that speak directly to the visitor
• Large, emotionally resonant images that showcase the Morehouse brotherhood and campus environment
• Content geared around major prospective student questions and needs, like "Apply", "About", and "Academics"
• Clean, high-contrast design that feels classic yet contemporary

4. Olin College of Engineering

The website for Olin College of Engineering, a top-ranked undergraduate engineering school in Needham, MA, is an excellent example of how to convey a tech-forward, entrepreneurial school culture.

Key elements:

• Dynamic, asymmetrical grid layout
• Bold pops of Olin‘s bright blue brand color
• Short, snappy copy with plenty of active verbs
• Authentic photos of students collaborating on hands-on projects
• Subtle background animations that add energy and reinforce Olin‘s focus on creative engineering and technology

5. Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy, an elite college preparatory boarding school in New Hampshire, has a website that balances prestige and approachability. The design makes it easy for prospective students to envision themselves on Exeter‘s historic campus.

Key elements:

• Elegant, classic typography with a literary feel
• Rotating feature stories that highlight student and faculty achievements
• Virtual campus tour and interactive campus map
• Social media feeds incorporated throughout the site to provide a real-time glimpse into campus life
• Downloadable viewbook and other resources for prospective students

By the Numbers: School Website Statistics

Still not convinced your school website deserves more love and attention? Consider these telling statistics:

• 9 out of 10 students say the school website affects their perception of the institution (RNL)
• 72% of high school students say the website influences their interest in applying (EAB)
• 70% of prospective students visit a school‘s website before taking any other action (RNL)
• 52% of prospective students will leave a website if they can‘t find the information they need (RNL)
• 81% of parents say online content influences their family‘s school selection process (Blackbaud)

Sources: Ruffalo Noel Levitz 2021 E-Expectations Report; EAB 2019 Report on Recruitment Marketing; Blackbaud 2022 Parent Perspectives Report

How to Build Your Own Amazing School Website

Ready to take your school‘s website to the next level? Follow these steps to create a site that informs, engages, and converts.

1. Start with strategy: Clarify your website goals, identify your key audiences, and define how you want visitors to think and feel when interacting with your site. Your website strategy should align with your overall enrollment and marketing plans.

2. Prioritize UX: Your website UX (user experience) is arguably more important than the visual design. Conduct user research to understand your audiences‘ needs, behaviors, and preferences. Then structure your content and navigation accordingly. Aim to make information easy to find and actions easy to take.

3. Invest in strong content: Compelling website content is essential for engaging visitors and conveying your school‘s unique value proposition. Hire talented writers and photographers to help tell your school‘s story through words and images. Incorporate videos, virtual tours, student and faculty profiles, program descriptions, testimonials, news items, and more.

4. Showcase your brand: Your school website should be a 24/7 ambassador for your brand. Work with a professional web designer to create a site that captures your school‘s personality and culture. But don‘t just make it pretty – make sure the design enhances the user experience and encourages desired actions.

5. Make it mobile-friendly: Over half of web traffic now comes from mobile devices, so your school website must look and function great on smartphones. Use responsive design techniques to ensure your site adapts smoothly to different screen sizes. Keep page load times fast and navigation easy to use on mobile.

6. Optimize for search: The best school website is one that prospective students and families can actually find. Improve your SEO (search engine optimization) by targeting relevant keywords, writing descriptive page titles and meta descriptions, earning high-quality backlinks, and publishing fresh content regularly. Consider working with an SEO specialist to audit and improve your site‘s organic search performance.

7. Add interactive elements: To keep visitors engaged, consider adding interactive elements like quizzes, calculators, assessments, and games to your website. These can be educational, entertaining, or both. For example, you might create a "Which Learning Style Are You?" quiz or a virtual scavenger hunt that introduces key parts of your campus.

8. Create targeted landing pages: Landing pages (a.k.a. lead capture pages) are a powerful tool for converting website visitors into prospective students. Create dedicated landing pages for your key offerings and audiences, like "Apply Now", "Visit Campus", "Inquire", "International Students", or "Military Families." Keep these pages focused on a single call-to-action.

9. Personalize the experience: Use marketing automation tools like HubSpot to personalize the website experience for different visitors based on their demographics, location, site behavior, and more. For instance, you might display different featured content to a prospective student vs. a current parent, or trigger a chatbot to pop up after a visitor has been on a certain page for 30 seconds.

10. Measure and optimize: Finally, make sure you‘re continuously tracking, analyzing, and acting on website data. Use Google Analytics to monitor key metrics like traffic, bounce rate, time on site, and conversion rates. A/B test different headlines, images, and CTAs to optimize for engagement and conversions. Survey your audiences to gather qualitative feedback. Then use these insights to make ongoing improvements to your school website.

Conclusion

There‘s no question that school websites play a vital role in recruiting students, engaging families, and building your school‘s brand. But simply having a website isn‘t enough – it needs to be one that captures attention, sparks emotion, answers questions, and inspires action.

The 15 school websites spotlighted here are brilliant examples of how to harness the power of great design, content, and UX to achieve key institutional goals. While your school‘s website should be uniquely yours, these sites can provide guiding principles and inspiration as you seek to upgrade your own online presence.

Building an amazing school website is no small undertaking. It requires strategic planning, cross-functional collaboration, and ongoing care and feeding. But when you consider the stakes – your school‘s ability to attract right-fit students and thrive – it‘s well worth the time and effort. Use this guide as your roadmap to school website success.