The layout is the way that your page will look when it is on the Internet. Things to look for when you plan out a layout are:

Ease of use

Can a parent visiting your site find links to all of the content easily?
If a parent wants specific information, is it in a logical location?

Logical Navigation

You want to have some sort of navigation area on your site. It can be vertical on either side or horizontal across the top or bottom. You can choose which you think would look the best and be the easiest for parents navigate through.

Many sites have a strong navigation area, on the first page. Once you click on a link, all navigation is gone. In order to visit another page you have to click the Back button on your browser. Unnecessary steps like this will make users (parents) lose interest and go to a different site. In order to keep their attention, be sure to have easily identifiable navigation on each page of your site.

General Aesthetics

Have a nice title or banner at the top of each page identifying your school or center. It's best to have a plan for the location of all text and images. Pages that look like you just put images wherever and pages with many animated graphics look too chaotic to most parents. Plan it out and keep it simple, you'll attract lots of visitors. You also can customize the colors and backgrounds used for your site as well as text size, color, and link color. Backgrounds are fine as long as the area where the text is has a solid color background. You can even change all of these variables for the seasons or holidays, it's completely up to you!

A good way to start planning out the layout of your site is to check out other web sites. What sites do you frequently visit? What about their site attracts you. Use the Internet to research what elements of a web page you think look best and what layout is the easiest to use. How can you apply these elements to your web site? Don't worry, I'm here for you for advice and to help with your planning.

Content is what sort of information you want to share with the parents. The content on your site is the most important part of a good web site. Parents and potential clients will visit your site looking for information about your center. If you have strong content, their questions will be answered easily and they will have a good feeling about you. If you have a beautiful web site that lacks content, your potential customers will not be helped and their questions will not be answered. Content consists of text, graphics, images, sounds, videos, downloadable files, etc. Some examples of content are:

The history of your center, what makes it different than all the rest?

Your logo
If you do not have a logo, that's no problem! I will assist you in designing a new one that you can use not only on your site but on letterhead, business cards, apparrel, etc.

Parent Handbook

Registration form and information

Curriculum

Class activities

Staff information/profiles

Center closing schedule

Daily classroom schedule

Enrichment classes/activities offered

Details of program for each age

Qualifications, awards, and accrediations

Pictures of children in the classroom, playing outside, and on field trips

When you send me information to put on your web site, send it worded exactly as you would like it posted. Look at me as merely the tool that you use to convert your ideas and words into something that can be posted on the Internet. Also, make sure that when you include pictures of your center including staff and children that you have their written permission (parent's permission for children under 18 years). Some parents object to having their children's likeness posted on the web.

You can also have a parent's only section that has more detail about your center (children's birthdays, tuition information, class lists, etc.)

Choosing the content that you will provide potential customers and current families is your decision. You can have as little or as much information as you like. You also have the ability to change the content as regularly as you need. If 4 months after your site is published on the web you decide you want to add a page with your lunch and snack menu, it's as easy as sending me the content and telling me where you want it.