Designing School Web Pages

Website Club Ideas

Since the internet is fairly new, most schools do not yet have a budget for an employee whose primary responsibility is to manage the school website and internet activities. And if you want your website to be kept up to date and informative, placing the load on an employee who already has other responsibilities, can be too exhausting and can lead to a website that is left as a "when I have time to get to it" media.

An excellent way to overcome this is to create and manage your school website through a club. Combining the website club with other clubs such as computer or journalism is an easy way to integrate it into your school activities. Various leaders of the club could be appointed for the following tasks:

Site Manager/s

Approves all content to the website
Organizes club activities
In charge of weekly/monthly club meetings
Works directly with all other club members to get the information to the webmaster.

Webmaster/s

Develops main style and theme of website.
Maintains the website.
Enters and updates content as needed.
Uploads all content to the server daily/weekly.

Content Manager/s

Collects and gathers information from various departments, teachers, administrators, etc. to be placed on the web site.
Organizes the information and submits to the Site Manager for approval.
(For larger schools, a Content Manager can be assigned for each department.)

Editors/Writers/Reporters

Great opportunity for students to be involved in providing content, graphics, news and more! Older students can also get involved in web development and programming. However, it is important to note that the main website should be kept under the webmaster's control for consistency of design and easy navigation. Provide specific pages for the students to design and manage that will not interfere with the general layout. These pages can include student clubs, student newsletters, kids page, teen page, etc.

Remember, the purpose of the website is to provide current information. A quality school website requires the involvement of many school members including the students. It is important to have a site manager who can maintain organization of information, keep it updated and organize student involvement.

Return to Designing School Web Pages

Patti J. Tarell, the CEO, webmaster and online marketing expert of SurfSmart, Inc., FloridaSMART, FloridaSchoolWebsites.com, and 100's of other websites. She has consulted with many schools and school media specialist to assist with website standards, guidelines and design. Click here to visit PattiJewel.com for a listing of some of her past and current projects.