Always Question Effectiveness of Your Trade School Website Design
As a vocational or trade school, you are responsible for the educational experiences of hundreds or thousands of students every year. You pour your financial resources into offering state-of-the-art facilities, top-notch teachers and an attractive campus that will draw new students and serve existing ones.
Your goal is to provide your students with an overall experience that they’ll carry with them into the workforce.
But, while you’re spending the majority of your efforts making your real-world presence unforgettable, it’s important not to neglect your online presence in the process. In today’s society, the digital experience your potential students will encounter will most likely be the very first impression of your school that they’ll get. It better be a good one. But, if you think that your current website just isn’t working to it’s potential, maybe it’s time that you consider a complete overhaul. A website update could be just what your school needs to give your students a fresh outlook on a trade school education.
Check out these questions to determine whether or not your vocational or trade school needs a new website design.
Ask Yourself…
Is your website mobile ready? If you don’t know what this means, then chances are, it’s not. Your past, present, and future students will probably be connecting with your school via a smartphone, tablet, or other digital device. Does your website appear in an accessible format on these devices, or does it need to be re-sized or adjusted just to be readable? A responsive web design will allow your students to easily access your website, no matter what platform they’re using.
Is your website’s graphic design content outstanding? Look at your design. Does your page look cluttered or distracting? Viewers will miss out on your message if they get lost in the insignificant details. Are the images used on your site outdated or of poor quality? If your site visitors see an outdated website, they’ll probably question how “cutting edge” the educational experience will actually be. Utilizing the expertise of a web design specialist can help you transform the look of your website into something that will accurately represent all that your school is and has to offer.
Do you have a strategic content plan in place? How do you decide what information you share online, through emails, or on social media? Is your most recent content posting dated three months ago? Do your site visitors read the most important information you have at the top of the page? (This includes the top of every piece of content posted online and in emails, as well as the information provided on every landing page of your website.) Typically, recipients will read the first section of info and then either skim over, or neglect entirely, the content near the end. Don’t lose your students’ interest early on before giving them the information they need, so choose your content topics and layout carefully.
How easily accessible is your trade school’s website? If you are unfamiliar with the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the quick answer is, “your website’s availability to be found by Internet users via search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. Is your school’s website found on page 5 when prospective students do non-specific searches for trade schools? You want your website to be listed with a high search engine ranking being found near the front of the list. If you don’t incorporate SEO techniques into your content marketing efforts, then your prospective students may never happen upon your school’s website to learn more.
To give your trade school’s website a modern day makeover, contact Neon Goldfish’s web design experts today at 419-842-4462. We can give your website the fresh updates that it needs to attract new visitors, increase enrollment, and stay relevant in an ever-increasingly tech-savvy student population. Your brand new “first impression” starts now.
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But, while you’re spending the majority of your efforts making your real-world presence unforgettable, it’s important not to neglect your online presence in the process. In today’s society, the digital experience your potential students will encounter will most likely be the very first impression of your school that they’ll get. It better be a good one. But, if you think that your current website just isn’t working to it’s potential, maybe it’s time that you consider a complete overhaul. A website update could be just what your school needs to give your students a fresh outlook on a trade school education.
