If you are in the early education business, you need a web presence. Having a professionally designed website enhances your brand and gives you credibility in the marketplace for a relatively low cost.
Credibility:
A professionally designed website gives your childcare center or school credibility. Conversely, having a poorly designed website or no website diminishes your company’s credibility. In today’s world, websites are very nearly a requirement for companies interested in growth. When prospective parents are searching for a childcare company or school that meets their needs, the search nearly always starts on line. It is rare indeed when anyone grabs a thick yellow book and flips through the pages to find a company these days. Your website helps to ensure that your company is not weeded out when others are searching for a company like your company. The look and feel of your website can be the difference between becoming irrelevant to that prospective parent and that parent’s decision to call you for a tour.
Cost Savings:
Nearly everything that used to require paper and postage can be done from your website. Your forms, contact information, directions to your school, reports to your parents, marketing and promotional materials can all be done from your website for a much lower cost and less labor. You can also personalize your site by having pictures of your center’s classrooms and teachers. You can share stories from parents and former students about their positive experiences at your center…all without the materials and distribution cost of paper.
Depending on how your site is set up, you may be able to change the content on your site yourself. Today, most websites are developed in WordPress. Once the site is built, it’s very easy to make minor modifications to your site without having to pay a web designer to do everything. You just have to make sure you find a web designer that will work with you and provide a little training on how to do it.
Your website can also save you time. For example, you could have an FAQ (frequently asked questions) section on your website to answer questions that your staff has been answering via phone conversations. While phone conversations are sometimes preferred by you because they help you to deliver more personal service, there is a growing number of people for whom your website provides a more comfortable alternative. It allows them to do their homework anonymously before they call you for the parental tour.
These are just a few of the advantages of having a professional and easy to navigate website for your childcare company or school.
Hope it helps.
Best to you….Brad Barnett, President BFS®
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