Having a website in today’s technological age is a necessity for driving new parents through your doors. But it’s not just enough to have a website – this won’t double your occupancy rate overnight! If your website takes a long time to load, is hard to find on search engines or doesn’t function well, then this can be hugely off-putting for parents and reflect badly on your business.
If you’ve been thinking of overhauling your website recently, help is at hand! Here, we’ve compiled 5 tips to help you build a successful online presence.
1.Make sure your website is fully responsive
Having a fully responsive website means that the content of your pages will adapt to the device it is being viewed on. This doesn’t mean two separate versions of your website - rather, it’s an intelligent way to present the same information whether the visitor is using a desktop, mobile or tablet. This is important because, in 2015, Google started giving preference to websites which are fully responsive. If yours isn’t, you’ll struggle to rank highly in search engine results pages.
2.Add an SSL certificate
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer certificate and, again, sites which have this perform better in Google search engine rankings than those without. The function of an SSL certificate is to encrypt personal information which is sent between a visitor and a website. This makes transactions involving personal information and banking details much more secure. Having an SSL certificate lets a visitor know that they can feel safe browsing your website and entering their confidential information.
It’s easy to check whether a website does or doesn’t have an SSL certificate – just look out for the little green padlock in the top left corner of your browser. The website address will also show as https:// instead of http://.
3.Create a blog
One very easy way to improve your website’s search engine rankings is to add a blog to your pages. Each time you update your blog with an article, post or news, Google reassesses your website’s ranking and may move it up. However, you must ensure that the blog is updated frequently – preferably on a weekly basis, but if not monthly. The content you publish must also be original (not copied word for word from anyone else) as Google penalises websites with duplicate content.
4.Re-evaluate your images
Having good quality, bright visual images on your website can hold visitor’s attention and keep them on the page. Rather than just using generic stock imagery that could give your website a dated feel, it’s important to use photos of your setting and rooms to give your pages a more personal look. You may wish to include images of smiling faces on your pages, too. Why? One American study looked at 1.1 million photos on Instagram and found that images with human faces were 38% more likely to receive likes than those with none. Using photos of human faces is an easy way to create more visitor engagement with your website
Did you know? As part of our website design service, we can add a video background to your site. This is a great way to give parents a feel for your setting and the service you provide!
5.Add clear Calls to Action
A beautiful, well-designed website serves more than one function. Without a doubt, it should give parents a good impression of your setting and provide them with valuable information, but it must also help to convert those visitors into paying customers. How do you do this? Calls to action (CTAs) are buttons which let the visitor know what you’d like them to do next. For example: download your prospectus or make an enquiry. These buttons act as prompts to get visitors to take action, rather just read your information. The most effective CTAs are eye-catching and have short, snappy instructions like “Enquire now”.
Keeping up with the demands of Google is important to ensure your website gets more traffic from parents. Coupled with this, your website should help to showcase the warm and professional service you provide. If your website design is more ‘outdated’ rather than ‘outstanding’, why not think about giving it an overhaul today?
If you’d like to explore your options for upgrading your childcare website, talk to our friendly team today! Call 0800 002 9242 for a free, no-obligation chat.
Childcare Websites
Are you happy with your current website? Does it do what you need it to?
Does it need a refresh? Perhaps it needs a complete overhaul! We can help you with all of this!
By combining your vision, ethos and needs, with our 20+ years’ experience, Parenta will create a childcare website that showcases your setting to its full potential.
Contact our friendly team of early years website design experts by emailing websites@parenta.com or calling 0800 002 9242.