Why is an Interactive Website Important for your School? Control, Measurement & Research.

Websites are challenging the traditional methods of communication by aligning their designs and functionality with the changes in user behaviour and technology.

Technology has allowed us to use the web as a social platform meaning we no longer see a website as just a place to gain information; we see it as a place to socially experience content. This has subsequently changed our expectations as users in that we anticipate the ability to interact with the website before we have even loaded the page.

Control has shifted from school to end user

What does this mean? Schools traditionally have had control over how information is consumed. A letter may be sent out to parents, an announcement in assembly etc. Students and parents now expect to consume information in the way they choose. This could be via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr YouTube, a blog etc. All these channels of communication can be overwhelming to your school’s marketing person. An interactive school website is designed to contain all these channels into one central hub - your school website. By having all these social media platforms on your site means your end user is just one click away from consuming rich content from one stream.

Measure & Research

An interactive website is more than just a means to push content; it excels in measurement and research.

Involvement

By using Google Analytics you can measure the level of involvement a user has with your site and even specific content. How many people visited our site this week? How long did they spend on our “About Us” page? Why do 75% of people leave our “Request a Prospectus” page? These are all essential questions that can be answered with analytics.

Interaction

By measuring the level of interaction your users have with your site leads you to find out which content works and which does not. Simple measurements such as the number of comments, sign ups for your newsletter etc. allows your school to engage on a higher level than other schools.

Intimacy

Intimacy analyses what occurs within the interaction between user and website. What are people saying about your school: is it positive or negative? What feedback can be taken from your latest news?

Influence

This is one of the most critical tools for measurement. It measures the communication between user and their social audience. For example, a student can ‘like’ a video from your school and it is then seen by their friends. Advocating content is one of the most crucial ways a school can increase their awareness.