WorldWeb School Website Survey - May 2012 Recently WorldWeb conducted a survey relating to School Websites. Below is an aggregated report of South Australian schools relative performance for website utilisation and web-based communication:
When is the last time you had your website redesigned?
I N 2 D I G I TA L
Within last 6 months Less than 2 years ago More than 2 years ago Not sure
Are you able to change and update the content on your website yourself, or do you need to rely on someone else? List upcoming events at your school Generate news and email newsletters Add photographs, videos and other media Sell products online eg books, uniforms etc.
In regard to functionality on your website, what are you able to do today? NEW TRENDS,
List upcoming events at your school
INSIGHTS AND
Generate news and email newsletters
INNOVATIONS
Add photographs, videos and other media Sell products online eg books, uniforms etc. Manage student absenteeism Provide online learning using Moodle or other tools Website usage statistics and analysis
worldweb Building Digital Capital Considerations While there's no set schedule, here are some factors to consider in deciding when it is time to redesign your web site. • Does your site look out of date, especially compared to other schools? • Do any of your pages have a “Last updated…” line that is more than six months old? • Can the site be made easier to use? • Does your website accommodate new technologies, such as the explosion of mobile devices?
Benefits of using a Content Management System If your website contains content that is frequently changing or being added to, for example events or news stories then certainly a CMS can be very advantangeous. • Ability to add or edit pages on your website yourself • Not have to pay your developer monthly maintnance or hourly rate for changes • Allow many people to edit and contribute to your site and allow control over which contributors have particular permissions.
What function should a school website perform? • A school website should be a means by which the school can communicate to parents, the local community and other users of school • information. • School websites should provide a function to educate pupils and parents and be especially fun to use. • The website should be used as a medium to inform parents about the basics of their children’s education and information about the school • Information disclosure on the website should be informative enough to be used by potential new teachers and pupils • It is a means by which the school can embrace and celebrate its past, present and future. • The school website is an information disclosure vehicle to create closer links to the local community.
For your future web strategy, rate the following items in order of importance. Very Important
Important
Neutral
Not Important
Improve efficiency by reducing the amount of printed material and moving this onto your website
41%
47%
12%
0%
Communicate better with parents and students using email and SMS
47%
35%
12%
6%
List a calendar of events and manage bookings
41%
41%
6%
12%
25% of smartphone owners say that they mostly go online using their phone, rather than with a computer. Most websites are not optimised for presentation on smart phones such as the iPhone. How important do you think it is for your school website to be accessed via a smart phone? Very Important Not Important Not sure
Does your school push news, blogs, events etc. to an end-user? Whether it’s a piece of content is pushed to a pupil, parent, alumni or the local community, a school mobile website can improve the accessibility and availability of the content your school creates.
Considerations
People don’t always have a computer nearby but they do always have their mobile. Do you have urgent news such as school closure? Only a smartphone will ensure quick and easy updates like this. School mobile websites can be integrated with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter so that your end user can tweet, share, like and do more actions that your audience is familiar with. Why is this good for your school? It’s advocacy.
What is your level of satisfaction with your current website? Extremely Low
Low
OK
High
0%
35%
35%
29%
Extremely High
0%
Please contact Con Klestinis, from WorldWeb on 8215 0020 or con.klestinis@worldwebms.com if you require any assistance or further information relating to the information provided in our Summary.
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con.klestinis@worldwebms.com