Launch Smart: How School Leaders Can Market a New Website Like a Pro

Congratulations! You’ve launched a sleek, redesigned website that showcases the heart and soul of your school or district. But guess what? The work isn’t over yet. Building awareness—and engagement—is just as important. Your new website should become the central marketing hub that connects your school with parents, students, staff, and the broader community.

Let’s explore tested, smart strategies to spread the word, draw traffic, reinforce your brand, and build ongoing trust using your new website as the anchor.

Build a School Website Launch Communications Plan

Launching a website isn’t just a technical project—it’s a communications event. Even before you go live, craft a short-launch plan. It should include:

1. Key Audiences & Channels
   
   • Identify primary audiences: current parents, prospective families, staff, community members.
     
   • Pick appropriate channels: email, text alerts, social media, school signage.
     
2. School Website Launch Timeline & Messages
   
   • A “Coming Soon” teaser.
     
   • Launch-day “Welcome to the new site!” announcement.
     
   • Follow-up reminders that highlight key features.
     
3. Content Highlights
   
   • Showcase new features—searchable calendars, registration info, staff directory.
     
   • Share visual proof—screenshots, quick videos, interactive site tours.
     

As Finalsite wisely notes, “creating a plan to market your site… involves proactively communicating the changes, reconnecting with different networks, and making sure your site is seen by the right audience”

Showcase the Site on All School Digital Entry Points

Don’t let your homepage go unnoticed. Use every digital channel to link back to your site:

• Email Signatures – Add a “Visit our new website!” line with a link.
  
• Newsletters – Include a section explaining what parents can now find on the site.
  
• Text Alerts & Emergency Communications – Mention new features, like easy access to calendars or lunch menus.
  

By consistently pointing users back to the site—and giving them a reason to click—you reinforce the website as your go-to information source.

Put Stories Front and Center

Here at School Webmasters, we emphasize that marketing is really about storytelling: “sharing your school’s stories, sharing your pride in staff and student wins… marketing for schools is more a matter of telling your school’s stories.” 
Great story formats include:

• Student spotlights or staff features – like a “Day‑in‑the‑Life” video of a student or teacher.
  
• Program success stories – highlight achievements in STEM, arts, athletics, etc.
  
• Family testimonials – allow parents to express why they love the school. A simple form—with 2 questions—can yield excellent quotes for web and social.
  

School Webmasters suggests incentivizing these story submissions—even something as simple as lunch credit or staff shout-outs—so you continuously build a library of authentic stories.

Make Video Your Secret Weapon

Video is unbeatable for engagement. School Webmasters recommends:

• Virtual video school tours – capture the school when it’s buzzing. Use smartphones—even a one-minute clip can pack a punch.
  
• Q&A clips – where principals or directors respond to common concerns like class sizes or safety.
  
• “Why I love our school” mini-interviews—recorded by parents, alumni, and staff.
  

Embed these on your “About” or homepage. Host them on YouTube and share snippets via social media and weekly newsletters. As School Webmasters notes, video helps people “see kids succeeding”—and better imagine their own children at your school.

Amplify with Social Media

Your site should fuel your social content—and vice versa. Take these steps:

1. Highlight new web content – such as a story, video, or downloadable calendar.
   
2. Use engaging visuals & hashtags – e.g., #SchoolNameStories.
   
3. Run short campaigns – e.g., “Spotlight Fridays” featuring student projects, linking back to deeper blog content.
   
4. Create Facebook groups – for specific engagement (e.g., sports, PTO), which encourages community interaction and makes reshares easy.
   

According to School Webmasters, social media is indispensable: “Social media networks… are the perfect place to showcase your school’s values… show off your cool campus vibe”.

Boost Visibility with SEO

All your effort pays off only if people can find the site. Invest in a basic SEO strategy, including:

• Keyword-rich titles & meta descriptions – for pages like “Enrollment,” “Programs,” etc.
  
• Alt-text on images – important for accessibility and search.
  
• Blogging or news updates – frequently added, relevant content sends positive signals to search engines.
  

School Webmasters stresses that SEO is a long-term, smart investment: “optimizing your school site experience is vital to organic search visibility”. Over time, improved search ranking increases your reach without ongoing ad spend.

Leverage Email to Reinforce Web Content

Email remains a direct and effective communication tool:

• Send a weekly/monthly digest – “This month on our new website: story on 5th graders’ science fair, virtual tour video, upcoming events calendar.”
  
• Track clicks – and adapt messaging based on audience preferences.
  
• A/B test subject lines – like “See what’s new on our website” vs. “Virtual tour + student spotlight!”
  

Consistent reminders drive traffic—and uncover features that might otherwise go unused.

Create Downloadable Resources

Everyone loves easy, printable content:

• Enrollment guides – with easy-to-follow steps and embedded links.
  
• Open-house checklists – use these as both downloads and form-gated assets.
  
• Parent tips sheets – such as How to Volunteer or How to Navigate Lunch Menus, all linked live in website menus.
  

These are great assets to share in community directories, local Facebook groups, and via email.

Download our FREE eBook: How Successful Schools Market Themselves.

Make Virtual Tours and Events Pop

If your site supports it:

• Add virtual tours – either with drone video showcasing your campus or a virtual tour featuring a teacher or administrator walking through the school to highlight its offerings.
  
• Prominently feature open-house dates – in headlines and banners.
  
• Create distinct landing pages – for each event, capturing attendees with sign-up forms.
  

This makes your site a practical tool, not just a brochure.

Connect with Local Media

Build relationships with local newspapers, radio stations, and community websites:

• Issue press releases – for the school website launch, highlighting new tools and services.
  
• Offer guest articles – maybe a “5 Ways Our New Website Empowers Parents.”
  
• Invite local influencers – such as PTA chairs or neighborhood bloggers, to preview and share within their networks.
  

Media coverage adds legitimacy and often extends reach beyond your regular audience.

Use Print and Outdoor Reminder Tactics

Go hybrid—combine online buzz with offline reminders:

• Posters in school and community areas – “Check out our new website! QR code included.”
  
• Flyers or postcards – sent home with students and placed at libraries, community centers, and local spots.
  
• Digital message boards – on campus, include QR codes linking to new content or registration forms.
  

These efforts ensure your entire audience knows what’s new and how to find it.

Incorporate “Tell‑A‑Friend” Campaigns

Leverage word of mouth by encouraging sharing:

• Scholastic referral – families sharing the site to friends and neighbors.
  
• Prize incentives – host periodic giveaways (e.g. school‑branded water bottles) for families who get others to subscribe or visit.
  
• Highlight shares – thank community members publicly (“Thanks to the Jones family for spreading the word!”).
  

School Webmasters notes word-of-mouth marketing as highly effective—when you actively encourage people to share your stories.

Set Measurable Goals and Key Metrics

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Use analytics to track:

• Website visits and page views.
  
• Referral sources – like email, social, or local media.
  
• Event signups and form completions.
  
• Time spent per page – especially on story and resource pages.
  

School Webmasters urges setting KPIs and measuring progress. If something isn’t clicking—stop, reassess, and retool the messaging or visuals.

Keep the Momentum Going

A new school website launch is a perfect reset—use it as a springboard for continued engagement:

1. Publish monthly news or updates
   
2. Add student/teacher takeovers – who post “a day in my life” stories via social or Snap.
   
3. Promote upcoming content – serve teasers like “Next month—our STEM lab tour video.”
   

Consistency is key: steady communication keeps your site—and your school—top of mind.

Solicit Feedback and Iterate

Put a feedback option front and center:

• Include a “What do you think?” form on your homepage.
  
• Run periodic parent surveys with questions like, “Can you find things easily?” and “What would you like to see next?”
  
• Ask for staff feedback on usability and content gaps.
  

Your users are your best improvement partners. When they contribute ideas, you show transparency and responsiveness — which builds trust.

Celebrate Milestones and Tell the Community

Acknowledge wins:

• “1,000th signup through the new site”
  
• “Top-performing story: STEM showcase had 500 views!”
  
• “New feature: Spanish translation now available.”
  

Use email, social media, signage, and announcements to highlight these moments. It reinforces the value your website brings.

Partner With Community & Alumni

Your site isn’t just for current families—it’s for alumni and community stakeholders:

• Create an alumni newsletter with links to news, achievements, or historical features.
  
• Invite alumni guest-blog or share memories/photos via forms.
  
• Collaborate with community groups—churches, nonprofits—to promote shared events via your site.
  

It’s a multi-generational conversation that enhances long-term support.

Maintain Compliance and Accessibility

School Webmasters emphasizes website accessibility and ADA compliance—essential for an open, trustworthy presence. Appoint a tech lead to:

• Check and fix alt-text, captions, color contrast.
  
• Ensure PDFs are accessible.
  
• Test with screen-reader tools periodically.
  

Accessible sites open doors to all families—and signal a commitment to responsibility and professionalism.

Audit and Refine Every Semester

Bold ambition is valuable—but your capacity may be limited. Each semester:

• Review top pages and under-performers.
  
• Identify new sections or resources to add.
  
• Survey users before major revisions, and plan enhancements around feedback.
  

This quarterly refresh keeps the site engaging—without disrupting school programs.

Final Thoughts

Launching a new school website is more than just updating code—it’s a strategic marketing opportunity. Pair it with thoughtful storytelling, smart cross-channel promotion, data-driven decisions, and ongoing maintenance for sustained success.

Remember:

• Story connects → feature it often.
  
• Video excels → use it strategically.
  
• SEO + social broadens reach → invest consistently.
  
• Analytics + iteration drive growth → monitor regularly.
  
• Accessibility & community build loyalty → plan intentionally.
  

Your web presence becomes a living archive: evolving, celebrating, connecting, and growing.

Looking for a new website design to launch? Contact School Webmasters and we’ll give you a school website to make you shine. Call Jim at 888-750-4556 or request a quote!