Start with the jobs

A school website has clear jobs: answer the questions families ask, and turn their interest into enquiries and applications.

Write those jobs down before you look at any platform. Then add what your staff need to change every week, and which school systems the site has to talk to.

What the common platforms are built for

HubSpot is a marketing and sales tool with a website builder attached. Finalsite is built for schools. WordPress, Wix and Squarespace are general website builders.

Questions to ask about any of them:

• What does it cost each year, and what makes that go up?

• Who can change a page, and how long does it take them?

• Does it connect to your school system and admissions forms?

• Can you take your site and content with you if you leave?

The last question is easy to skip, and it is the one that matters when you want to move.

Paying for tools you do not use

Marketing platforms charge for email campaigns, CRM seats and automation. Some schools only use the website part and pay for the rest anyway.

If your admissions team already works in a school system such as Mograsys, PowerSchool, iSAMS, Veracross or OpenApply, a second CRM inside the website platform may sit unused.

Check what you actually use before you renew.

Moving without losing the look

Leaving a platform does not mean starting again. Families know your site, and it can keep the same look.

A careful move covers:

• Every page copied, with its images and documents

• Old addresses redirected, so links and Google results still work

• Platform tracking and leftover scripts removed

• Forms reconnected to admissions tools such as Prospect AI

We have moved a school off HubSpot this way, and the same steps work for sites on Finalsite, WordPress, Wix or Squarespace.

Simple can be enough

A fast website with a small editor for the things staff change covers what many schools need. It has fewer moving parts to break and no per-seat licences to renew.

Integrations still fit: an Instagram feed, a careers page linked to Schrole, Google Analytics and your school system.

You keep the parts that matter to families and drop the ones that only add cost.

Before you sign or renew

Whatever you choose, get clear answers in writing first.

Make sure you know:

• The full yearly cost, with nothing hidden

• Who makes changes, and how fast

How you would leave, if you ever had to

The right platform is the one your staff can use.