What a school or tutoring website needs, for the parent comparing three

Education sites have a peculiarity: the person deciding and the person attending are different people. The parent pays and chooses; the student has a vote but not the final say. So the writing has to address the parent first.

The pattern that repeats is that parents do not choose during the working day. They choose late in the evening with three or four sites open side by side. The one that answers first is the one that gets the phone call in the morning. The one that says please contact us for details usually does not.

Three questions to answer before anything else

In the order they are actually asked. First: can my child join — is the age and level right for this course. Second: which days and what time, because it has to fit the schedule of the whole household. Third: how much, and what does that include — is there a registration fee or a separate charge for materials.

Notice that none of them concerns teaching philosophy or the history of the institution. Both matter, but they are what people read after clearing those three, not before. Leading with them loses the reader who has not cleared them yet.

What the site needs

• A page per course — level, suitable ages, what the student will be able to do afterwards, and how long it runs.
• The current timetable — which days, which times, and how many places are left if you track that.
• Fees stated plainly — what is included, and whether registration or materials are charged separately.
• The next intake date — the single most asked question, and the one most often missing.
• Teachers, with qualifications — parents check this, and vague titles do not reassure.
• Photographs of the actual rooms — space, safety and cleanliness are being assessed in those pictures.
• Location, parking and drop-off — practical, and it decides whether the schedule works at all.
• A back office the office staff can use — because timetables and fees expire on a calendar and must be changed without a developer.

A page structure that works

• Home — who you teach, at what levels, and where to start
• Courses — an index, then a page each with level, ages and outcomes
• Timetable — the current term, and the next intake
• Fees — by course, with inclusions
• Teachers — profiles with qualifications
• Facilities — photographs of the real rooms
• Apply or enquire — a short form, and what happens next

What to have ready before the build starts

• The course list with levels, ages and durations
• The current timetable and the next intake date
• Fees, and what each includes
• Teacher names and qualifications, with photographs if they agree
• Photographs of classrooms and facilities
• Location details, parking and drop-off arrangements
• Who in the office will maintain the timetable each term

The information that expires every term

Education sites differ from other trades in having content with a calendar expiry: the current timetable, the next intake, this year fees, and who is teaching. If those four cannot be changed in-house, the site is out of date within one term and starts doing harm instead of good.

Out-of-date information costs more here than elsewhere, because a parent plans around an old timetable, or sees last year fees and feels misled on arrival. The fix is making it editable by the office, not reminding people to ask.

If you want courses and timetables built so your office can maintain them, the school website page sets out what each package covers.