Effective Daycare Websites - Design Tips and Content Ideas

These days, every serious business should strongly consider establishing a web presence and the daycare business is no exception. A website can help to bring in new enquiries and it can also help you to maintain your relationship with your existing customers.

In this article we look at why a website is so important and we discuss some of the key elements of daycare websites. We have also included some ideas on the content that you may consider putting on your site.

Making an Impression with Style

Your website's home page should convey a clear message to viewers about the business that you are in and should include some of your daycare brand's flavor in terms of the color scheme and logo design. Most businesses would be advised to go with a more conservative design but with daycare being a 'children's market' anything can work well, and designs that are colorful with lots of graphics can be highly effective in communicating your message.

Make sure that customers come away from your site with a good impression and perceive your company as being professional and well established. Don't try to save money by making a website yourself unless you are skilled in website design and know exactly what you are doing.

Design and Usability

Do try to keep the design reasonably simple so that visitors can clearly understand your message without getting confused. Avoid any graphics, videos or flash presentations that are slow to load or annoying to visitors. Your website should be easy to use and have a clear menu bar for site navigation.

Always go with a reliable hosting provider so that you minimize downtime and your website will always load fast for visitors with little delay. Free web hosting is generally unreliable.

Selling Daycare with Photos and Videos

Try to include some of your best photos on your home page with testimonials from parents and even some from your children if possible. Include some supplementary pages with additional pictures and references. Videos can also work well and can give parents a good idea of what daily life at your daycare is like.

Establishing Trust

Include some 'trust symbols' so that site visitors associate your daycare business with other reliable organizations. Form relationships with other local business and add their logos to your site. Add the logo of the newspaper of radio station that you advertise with or any professional organizations that you are a member of. Always seek permission first.

Have a contact page that sets out contact details. Parents will be reassured if you have lots of phone numbers that can be called in emergencies. You should also consider listing your mobile phone number. 

Include an 'About' page with a history of your business and photos and detailed profiles of yourself and your employees. Here you have a chance to highlight the qualifications and experience of your staff.

Strong Call to Action

Include a strong call to action on your home page. Rather than leaving your site visitors wondering what to do next, tell them what the next step is. Offer clear instructions for how they can contact you and encourage them to contact you immediately by offering incentives for them to get in touch right away such as discounts or promotions.

Information on Schedules, Policies and More

If parents have questions about your daycare services they may first decide to visit your website to seek information and answers. By giving parents detailed information about your policies and procedures you can save time by reducing the amount of phone calls that your daycare center receives. You can also consider offering information on daily schedules, curriculum and pricing. Some daycare websites also include a FAQ page (Frequently Asked Questions) on the site and make a habit of adding new answers to questions that you get from parents.

You can also speed up the enrolment process by offering application forms on your website that can easily be downloaded by parents.

Build Relationships

Your website also offers you a way for you to stay in touch with parents so you may consider adding a news page or even a blog to keep families up to date. Having an email newsletter that families can subscribe to also offers a great way to stay in touch and build stronger relationships.

Website Promotion

A great website design is one thing but actually setting up Internet marketing campaigns and optimizing your site to attract targeted web traffic is another. Some daycare centers have a website solely as a reference point for their existing clients but for others, a website is a major part of their overall marketing strategy. In the case of the latter you need to look at many factors, both onsite and offsite that contribute to bringing in website visitors. This is a real art and expert assistance or extensive research is required.

Get your business off to the best possible start with a great looking and informative daycare website to promote and enhance your brand.

Additional Articles

How to Advertise a Daycare - Methods and Examples

Daycare Advertising Ideas and Tips

Daycare Flyers and Postcards