5 Great School Websites from the Top 5 Website Providers

The state of school websites is as strong as ever and getting even better. Schools administrators understand now more than ever how critical a useful and engaging school website is. With several qualified website providers offering content management systems (CMS) and design, today’s school communicator certainly has ample choices. While there’s help for choosing the school website provider that’s right for your school, many factors come into play, but design remains at the top of the list.

We’ve selected a handful of what we feel are school websites worth checking out. Some large, some small. Some public, some private. No surveys, no science, but a representative sample from the top website providers.

Del Lago Academy Campus of Applied Science

Escondido, California
Public high school, grades 9-12
Enrollment: approx. 700 students
Website provider: Edlio
https://www.dellagoacademy.org

This California public school has a cool website that makes it easy to find the latest events. It features rotating banners for splash and quick links for visitors to pinpoint the information they seek. One especially cool feature I liked is The Firebird Press, a student-run section actually designed and created using Wix and is linked to the rest of the site. Not afraid to tackle the tough topics, including editorials on Dellago teachers working without a contract, their site-within-a-site runs the gamut of news and content – activities, sports, opinions, club spotlights, staff spotlights and peer submissions. 

Sun Valley Community School

Sun Vally, Idaho
Private K-12
Enrollment: approx. 400 students
Website provider: FinalSite
https://www.communityschool.org/

A private school in Idaho with a “foundation of mutual respect and a love for learning,” as their website states, Sun Valley Community School has a website that captures its brand precisely. Cool rollover photos that reveal quotes help tell the stories, and the above-the-fold section of the homepage features a montage of short video clips capturing a variety of engaging scenes from around the school and campus. The video clips, which run from 2-4 seconds each, include engaging scenes, time-lapse and even some drone flyover panoramic shots.

Kenton County School District

Kenton County Kentucky
Public district K-12
Enrollment: approx. 14,000 students
Website provider: SchoolPointe
https://www.kenton.k12.ky.us

This rapidly growing school district in Northern Kentucky District has a district website hub that’s home base for 18 schools. With a solid district brand supporting its design, the site prominently features its website accessibility information with easy-to-find icons. The District Snapshot panel just below the fold gives visitors a great overview of some key numbers and facts, and the social media feeds are prominently displayed, including a link to the district YouTube channel (with over 800 subscribers).

Northeast Metro 916

White Bear Lake, Minnesota
Public district K-12
Enrollment: approx. 6,000 students
Website provider: SchoolMessenger
https://www.916schools.org

This is one of my personal faves of the big 5 featured here. It starts with an inviting Interactive ‘start here’ prompt on the homepage above the fold. In addition to the main navigation at the top of the page, visitors can select one of four popular categories to get directed to very common content hubs the district’s content managers have identified as go-to information. Overall, a crisp, clean, inviting design that’s very easy on the eyes. If I were a parent, I’d be coming back to this site often, which ought to be the goal of every website. 

Bishop Stang High School

North Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Private grades 9-12
Enrollment: approx. 700 students
Website provider: SchoolNow
https://www.bishopstang.org

The first coeducational Catholic secondary school in its Diocese, Bishop Stang High School is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Operating in a very competitive school choice environment in the Commonwealth, Bishop Stang draws from a wide swath of southern Massachusetts towns and uses its website to help unite and convey the religious, cultural, economic, and ethnic diversity among its students and faculty.

These are just a few. Do you have some favorites you'd like to share?