Your Website Is a Front Office – What Families Think in the First 5 Seconds

Have you ever walked into a building and immediately been uncomfortable? Sometimes

you can’t even pinpoint the reason, it’s just a general feeling of unease. Other times, it’s readily apparent; the décor is dated, the furniture worn or stained, the carpet bland, dated or dirty, or scuff marks on the tile, dustballs around the edges, and so on. You feel like you need to wash your hands after being there. Whether you notice consciously or subconsciously, you are hesitant to do business with the location.

Today, most people do this with websites and don’t even realize it. There are so many things that go into a website to make it feel comfortable to the user experience. Things such as: The overall symmetry, elements lining up or being obviously misaligned, typos, long paragraphs that are taxing or time consuming to read, whether useful information or most-needed links are easy to find.

What Parents Notice First

No lesson is complete without some kind of object lesson, so before we dive into this, let’s do an activity together. Challenge: Do a quick search for charter schools in another state, then spend 60 seconds on their website. Then ask yourself these questions, What are the first things you notice? Is it easy to find the logo and name of the school? Is this a brick and mortar or virtual school? Can you quickly find the grades served? Is the website outdated? Can you quickly find information about enrolling? What is the focus of their school? Does the entire experience come across amateur or professional? These are the same things parents are noticing about your website immediately as well. 

People are trained to subconsciously analyze their experience on every website they access. There are many factors that go into making a website that creates a great user experience. These factors are not only important for how parents or students feel when the visit your page but also because search engines are constantly seeking and prioritizing websites that match up to current standards. If your site is modern, comfortable to use and look at, easy to navigate, and has the most important information readily available right from the start, it will have a ripple effect in your favor. A website matching the above will build trust, people will want to work with an organization that takes the time to make things convenient and enjoyable with the first impression. It will reinforce word-of-mouth, so that when Mr. and Mrs. Jones have friends over for the evening, they won’t be uncomfortable giving the website out when they’re asked about their child’s charter school. A great website is also a time saver, your staff won’t be fielding “quick questions” about the most important information that could or should be on the front page of your website.

Is Your Website a Good Front Office Experience?

I’d like to invite you to ask yourself the same questions as above, but in regards to your own website experience. Does your website feel like it’s doing its job as a digital front office for your school? Do you feel comfortable with it? Can parents easily navigate to important pages? Is the décor outdated or dirty? Would you want to tell all your friends about it? Does it get parents excited for their child’s education? 

Your digital presence makes a huge impact on your enrollment and success as a charter school. We’ve helped hundreds of schools like yours recreate, improve, and optimize their websites to give the best first impression possible. Reach out and learn what we can do to help you with yours.