Preschool & Daycare Websites : What to include
There are many things to consider when designing and building a great preschool or daycare website, but the most important is creating content that is easily searchable on Google.
You need an understanding of what information your site visitors might need and how to organize it so it can help them find the information they’re looking for quickly. Well-organised, clear information will boost your Search Engine rankings, which in turn will generate more leads; leads that then convert into enrolments.
In order to create a successful daycare or preschool website, you need a range of high-quality content and images. Pages with more than 450 words tend to rank higher organically in search engines than pages with less content, however, that doesn’t mean that every page should be long just for the sake of it. What’s most important is making sure the information your visitors want is easily accessible, while also taking into account the length of each section.
The Home page I the first impression of your preschool that a visitor to the website sees, and it should provide quality content so that people can find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently. Everything that is essential should be no more than 3 clicks away, and there should be liks on the Home page of the website to essential information and pages, as well as links from the navigation menu.
Design
Your website should be the best possible representation of your daycare or preschool; it should be visually appealing, functional and easy to navigate. We also recommend that colors and images that will appeal to both parents and children are used, as more often than not parents will show the website to their children.
Great images of your daycare or preschool is a vital first step in establishing a relationship with parents. We recommend using professional photography to capture the personality of your facility.
You should also ensure that your website looks great and works properly on desktops, mobile, and tablets. Our data shows that more than 50% of first visits to a daycare or preschool website come from either a mobile or tablet, and we have seen up to 80% of traffic coming from mobile devices.
Tell Your Story
Choosing a daycare or preschool for our children is a very personal choice, and the way you tell your story will influence how potential clients react to your website and what action they take. Every business and every business owner has a story to tell, and your website is the place to do it. Ask yourself questions like:
- Why did we open our daycare?
- What makes us unique?
- What is most popular with our existing clients/families?
- What makes us excited about our preschool?
Your Programs
Here you will provide times and days that your services are available as well as any other useful information. For example, it is important to include information about whether your program offers breakfast-time or afternoon care, how many naps are allowed per day (for very young children), and what meals the children are provided.
You should also use bullet points and images in addition to paragraphs of text to make your site more engaging and easy-to-read. Images keep users interested while concise paragraphs help with search engine rankings.
Enrolment and Admissions
Parents need to understand the enrollment process for your preschool or daycare and your website needs to take them along a journey from the Home page to registration or enrolment.
Many childcare providers require parents to take a tour before accepting an application, so let parents know about any application fees and make sure deadlines are clear.
We recommend that all websites have a clear button linking to a booking system where parents can either request a tour or book one. The website should make visitors want to book a tour, and at the tour you can “close” the ennrolment.
Gallery and Images
The most persuasive thing you can add to your website is images of happy children, and there should be a selection of images of individuals and groups of children on every page of the website.
It’s also useful to have a gallery with a selection of images of:
- The interior and exterior of your preschool or daycare including any garden and play equipment.
- Children in groups learning and playing.
- Individual children in various activities.
Tuition Fees
Some daycare and preschool providers argue that putting tuition information on your website is counter-productive because you could be selling to families who cannot afford your fees. There are also those who believe there’s no point in showing parents around if they can’t afford your rates.
We believe that this should be decided by the intensity of your competition. If you have few competitors, then it is worth publishing your rates. What you don’t want to do is enter into a fee war with many local competitors as it will negatively impact all of you.
It is useful to list any additional fees payable such as:
- The cost of meals (if not included).
- The cost of enrichment programs
- The cost of breakfast and afternoon sessions.
- The cost of registration.
You may also wish to include things such as whether or not you offer scholarships or accept subsidies from government programs.
Calendar
An online calendar is a great way of showcasing the range of events that you hold at your daycare, preschool or kindergarten. This could include national holidays, outings and visits, family days, religious celebrations, concerts etc. It should also detail closures or semester dates.
Having an up-to-date calendar on your website not only shows potential families that you organise a wide range of activities, but it can also save a heap of management time with existing families as they are much less likely to call or email asking what date what is happening on if all the information is on the website. Imagine 30 parents calling in a week and each call taking five minutes – that’s an immediate gain of 1.5 wasted hours!
Meals
If your preschool or daycare provides meals to children, then you should highlight this including details of costs, and any allergies or dietary preferences that you cater for. We recommend showing example menus too.
Policies
All daycares and preschools are required to comply with strict health and safety and child protection laws, and the best way to show that you are knowledgeable and compliant is to display a list of policies on your website. We recommend that pdf copies of all the key policies are downloadable from a separate policies page. This is also a good place to make available any local or national inspection reports.
FAQs
A Frequently Asked Questions page is a great place to collect everything that is often asked but which doesn’t fit neatly on any of the other pages. This is one that is worth brainstorming with your team as there will undoubtedly be lots of things that parents ask, and the more answers you can give, the more resistance you will remove.
Blog/News
A blog or news section is a very useful tool for childcare providers, although for news many have turned to platforms such as Instagram as a quick easy and visual way to keep parents up to date.
A blog provides the opportunity to showcase both trends and your own thoughts and opinions. It is a great way of attracting visitors both to your website and to your facility as if they like what you write, and they trust your opinions, they are more inclined to visit your facility. Again, it is about removing resistance.
Keeping an up-to-date blog or news section also has great benefits for SEO and for your ranking generally. The more relevant cont you have on your site, the better the chances of appearing higher up the Search Engine results.
Testimonials
Your past and current daycare and preschool families are the best assets for generating new business. Visitors to your website don’t know them, but having testimonials will reassure prospective parents that you’re an excellent choice, show that people appreciate you, and that you care and nurture their children. There is nothing more persuasive.
Contact Page
Although you will have included this information on your daycare or preschool website header and footer, a dedicated page makes your contact information extra easy to find.
It’s good practice to include a form as well as listing your email address, phone numbers (including an out-of-hours cell if you have one) and of course, your address.
It is really useful to include a Google map here, with daycare or preschool clearly indicate on it. Prospective parents will often want to check where your facility is situated in relation to their work or other family members such as grandprents. The easier you can make it for them to check the better.
