Important functions for an education website
- A unique, accessible design
The web design is the most important element in a school website. 94 percent of first impressions are related to design, which means that new and returning visitors make split-second decisions based solely on the look of your website. You should redesign your website every three years in order to meet the ever-changing expectations of website visitors.
Accessibility is just as important as the overall aesthetics. A website that is accessible ensures all website visitors are able to fully understand and enjoy the design and content of your website. For Websites for schools, visit https://www.fsedesign.co.uk/websites-for-schools/
- Mobile-first design
It is important to have a design that is appealing, but it is also essential that the design works on mobile devices. Mobile-first design should not be surprising to schools who receive 50-60% of all website traffic from mobile devices. Parents and students use multiple devices, including mobile phones.
Consider these stats
- 52% of users said that a poor mobile experience has made them less likely engage with a business
- If a website isn’t mobile-optimised, users will abandon tasks 5 times as often.
- Users are frustrated by sites that do not optimise for mobile devices in 48% of cases.
What is the difference between responsive design and mobile-first design? Isn’t it the same thing? The primary difference between responsive web-design and mobile-first design lies in how the designer approaches the site.
- Fast loading times
The consumer of today expects your site to load quickly. Site speed is a key factor in whether or not a potential customer will visit your website. 40 percent of site visitors will leave your website if it takes longer than three seconds. 48.7% of visitors want the site to load within two seconds.
Photo load time is the main issue for most schools. Consider the following tips to optimise your website photos if you want to improve the loading time of your web pages:
- Export your images in the same size as they will appear on your site: Pay attention to image dimensions and size. Uploading a photo with 7000 pixels for a thumbnail of 200 pixels is not necessary and slows down the site.
- Only use 72 dpi for images: Although 300 dpi is better in print, it will have no effect on images uploaded to the web. Photoshop can be used to make this adjustment.
- Reduce the number of images on your site: While images are great, reducing the number you use per page can improve the speed of your website.
