A school website needs to work in different ways for different people.

Parents and carers need to find information and updates quickly. Staff need a website that is easy to use and update. Governors need key information to be clear and accessible. Inspectors, like Ofsted, need to be able to find current policies, documents and statutory information easily, without it being buried across multiple pages.

This means the design of your school website matters more than you might think.

It is not just about how the website looks. It is about how easy it is to read, how simple it is to use, how accessible it is and how well it supports the daily life of the school.

At North East Schools, we believe a good school website should be clear, welcoming and practical from the very beginning of the design process. That is why our school website designs are thought out from the start with both users and staff in mind.

We provide school website design for nursery schools, primary schools, secondary schools and academies, with supporting services for school hosting and support and school cloud solutions.

Good School Website Design Starts with Clarity

Your website should not make people work hard to find basic information. It should feel simple, organised and familiar from the first click.

When we design school websites, we think about questions such as:

Can parents and carers find key information quickly?

Is the homepage clear without feeling overcrowded?

Can users read the text comfortably?

Does the design work properly on mobile?

Is the navigation simple enough?

Does the website feel like the school it represents?

It should not feel cluttered, confusing or overwhelming. It should help people understand where to go next, whether they are looking for term dates, policies, safeguarding information, admissions details or the latest school updates.

Accessibility Is Built into the Design from the Start

For us, accessibility starts at the design stage. One of the biggest areas we focus on is colour contrast. We make sure school websites meet strong accessibility standards, including WCAG AA expectations for colour and legibility.

Colour choices make a huge difference in how easy a website is to use. You might think some colours look good together, but if the contrast is too low, some users may struggle to read the content. Pale text on light backgrounds, bright colours behind small text or decorative fonts can quickly make important information harder to access. Good design should make things easier for the user.

When we design a school website, we think carefully about:

Text colour

Background colour

Button contrast

Link visibility

Font size

Line spacing

Page structure

Mobile readability

The aim is to create a website that feels welcoming and professional, stays true to the branding, while still being clear and accessible for as many people as possible.

Legible Text Is Not Optional

The content on a school website is important. Policies, safeguarding information, admissions pages, SEND details, newsletters and curriculum pages all need to be easy to read. That means font size, spacing and layout cannot be an afterthought.

We design school websites with readable text as a priority. The site needs to feel comfortable on a desktop screen, but also on mobile, because that is how many parents, carers and staff will access it.

Good text design helps people read without unnecessarily zooming, squinting or getting frustrated.

This includes:

Clear fonts

Sensible body text sizes

Strong heading styles

Shorter paragraphs

Good spacing between sections

Buttons that are easy to tap

Pages that do not feel cramped

When a website is easy to read, it immediately feels more professional and more useful.

It also helps the school communicate more clearly. If the information is important enough to be on the website, it should be easy for people to read and understand.

The Layout Should Guide People Naturally

Some school websites can feel like a maze. Important information can be buried across multiple pages with no clear direction. This can be frustrating for parents and carers, but it can also create more work for school staff if people have to phone or email to ask for information that should be easy to find.

The layout should guide people to the information they need. If everything is competing for attention, people can miss the most useful information. Our approach is to keep layouts clear, structured and easy to follow.

A clear layout can help with things like:

Admissions enquiries

Parent information

Latest news

Term dates

Safeguarding details

SEND information

Policies

School values

Contact information

This is why we think carefully about the homepage, menu structure, button placement and page sections before the website is built. A school website should feel calm and organised, even when it holds a lot of information. We include structural changes like this in our initial design meetings to make sure the school has a clear vision of how the website could look and the usability of it from the start. This also gives the school visual input as we figure out together the best direction for their design.

Mobile Design Needs to Be Considered Early

A school website might be designed on a desktop screen, but it will often be used on a mobile too.

Parents may be checking term dates during the school run, reading a newsletter during a lunch break or looking for contact details quickly. Staff may also need to check or update information while moving between different tasks.

That means mobile design cannot always be an afterthought. When we design school websites, we look at how the site works across different screen sizes. The mobile version needs to be easy to read, easy to tap and easy to navigate. Any elements we design for desktop will be re-designed for mobile and tablet view, allowing for complete consistency across all devices.8

A good mobile design should allow users to:

Open the menu easily

Read text without zooming

Tap buttons comfortably

Find contact details quickly

View key dates clearly

Access policies and newsletters

Move around the website without getting lost

If a website only works well on a large screen, it is not working properly for the way many people use school websites today.

The Website Should Feel Like Your School

A school website should not feel generic. It should feel like your school.

Every school has its own personality, values and community. Some schools want a bright and creative feel. Others want something calm, simple and traditional. Some want to highlight faith, nurture, outdoor learning, inclusion, curriculum or strong community links.

The design should reflect that.

At North East Schools, we think about:

Your school colours

Your values

Your photography

Your tone of voice

Your key messages

Your parent and carer audience

Your daily communication needs

The finished website should look professional, but it should also feel warm and human.

A parent or carer visiting the website should get a clear sense of the school, not just from the words on the page, but from the design, layout, imagery and overall feel.

Structure Comes Before Content

Before content is moved across or new pages are added, the structure of the website needs to be planned properly.

This is where a lot of school websites can become difficult to use. Over time, pages get added, documents get uploaded and menus become longer. Eventually, the website becomes harder for everyone to manage.

A clear structure helps stop this from happening.

A school website may need clear sections for:

About the school

Key information

Parents and carers

Curriculum

Safeguarding

SEND

Admissions

Policies

Governance

News and events

Contact information

When the structure is planned properly, the website becomes easier for visitors to use and easier for staff to manage.

It also helps important information sit in the right place, rather than being hidden in old pages, long menus or outdated documents.

Compliance Should Feel Clear, Not Complicated

School website compliance is important, but it should not make the website feel cold or confusing.

Parents and carers should still be able to use the website easily, while inspectors and governors can find the information they need.

Good design and structure can help make key content clearer, including:

Safeguarding information

SEND information

Policies

Governance information

Curriculum content

Admissions information

Ofsted information

School performance information where relevant

The aim is not to make the website feel like a filing cabinet.

The aim is to make important information easy to find, easy to read and easy to keep up to date.

This is why the design and structure matter so much. A well designed school website can make compliance feel much more manageable.

For a deeper compliance checklist, read our guide to Ofsted school website requirements.

Staff Need a Website They Can Actually Use

A school website also needs to work for the people updating it.

School staff are busy. They do not need a complicated system that makes simple updates feel difficult.

The website should make everyday tasks manageable, such as:

Adding a newsletter

Updating a policy

Changing a staff page

Posting school news

Adding term dates

Uploading letters

Updating admissions information

Adding useful links

Publishing forms or parent information

A good school website should support the office team, not slow them down.

This is why we think about staff use as part of the design process. It is not just about what visitors see on the front of the website. It is also about how easy the website is to manage behind the scenes.

What Happens After Launch Still Matters

The design comes first, but support after launch still matters.

A school website needs regular care to stay secure, accurate and useful. Schools change throughout the year. Policies are updated. Staff pages change. Newsletters are added. Admissions information needs reviewing. New content is published.

The website needs to be able to move with the school.

At North East Schools, we understand that school websites need support beyond launch. That might include hosting, updates, security, backups, training and practical help when school staff need changes made.

A good school website should not be something that looks great on launch day and then slowly becomes harder to manage.

It should continue to support the school throughout the year.

A Website Designed Around Real School Life

Choosing a school website design company is not just about choosing who can build a website.

It is about choosing a team that understands how schools work.

A school website needs to be clear, accessible, readable and easy to use. It needs to support parents and carers, help staff, organise important information and represent the school properly.

At North East Schools, we design school websites with real school life in mind from the very beginning.

That means focusing on clear layouts, strong accessibility, WCAG AA colour standards, readable text, mobile usability, simple navigation and practical content structure before anything else.

When the design is right from the start, everything else becomes easier.

Parents can find what they need. Staff feel more confident updating the site. Important information is easier to manage. The school is represented clearly and professionally.

That is what good school website design should do.

Frequently Asked Questions