Towards a quality standard for school websites

The school website is the school's calling card. For many parents it is the first acquaintance with the school where they will let their children go to school. A first impression is therefore of great importance. Yet a good school website is often not really a priority for schools. As a result, schools miss opportunities in terms of PR, communication and even in terms of reputation and participation.

The arrival of social media has further accentuated the importance of a good school website. Where a school website involves one-way traffic in which the school informs its 'customers' or stakeholders, the use of social media means that as a school you have to communicate with those target groups in two directions. This opens up opportunities, but also requires extra efforts. Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn also ensure that questions are asked about the usefulness of websites. Some trend watchers even claim that social media will eventually replace the classic website. For the time being, however, social media is still an additional channel, alongside and complementary to the school website.

There is a lot to tell about the school website. A certain degree of delimitation was therefore necessary.
First, the report is limited to the more substantive aspects of school websites. Technical aspects (such as the choice of content management systems, graphic design, hosting, domain name registration, software licenses and security) are not or only indirectly discussed.
A second reduction has to do with other digital communication channels, mainly social media. In one chapter, the complementarity of website and social media is discussed in more detail. But it is clear that - from the available literature alone - the more in depth treatment of social media as a communication channel would give a different content to the report.

This report is divided into two parts. A first part contains a theoretical exploration in which a few specific aspects of school websites are discussed: the functions of the school website, the legal framework, the editorial roles, a content analysis and finally a detailed section on the relationship between school website and social media. A second part therefore contains an instrument for schools in the form of a checklist with tips and tricks.