What should a school website include? A checklist

A school website checklist starts with one question: what does a parent need to know to decide whether to visit? Parents in Indian cities usually shortlist three to five schools within a commute they can live with, then compare fees, board, timings, transport and the feel of the place. Most of that comparison now happens on a phone, often late in the evening, before anyone calls the admission office. If your website cannot answer those questions, the parent books a tour at the school whose website can.

This checklist is part of our education website content and conversion guide, which covers colleges and universities as well. Here we focus only on K-12 schools: CBSE, ICSE, state board, IB and Cambridge. Tick off each item, note what is missing, and fix the admission-critical gaps before your next admission window opens.

School website checklist: the admission essentials

These are the items parents look for first. If any are missing, treat them as urgent, because each one is a common reason a parent calls a competitor instead.

• Admissions page with the current academic year in the heading, for example "Admissions open 2027-28".
• Classes and age criteria: the minimum age for Nursery, LKG, UKG and Class 1 as on the cut-off date your school follows, which may differ by state.
• Admission process: step by step, from enquiry to form, interaction or assessment, document submission and fee payment.
• Important dates: form availability, interaction dates, result dates and the last date for fee payment.
• Documents required: birth certificate, Aadhaar where applicable, previous school report card, transfer certificate, photographs.
• Seat availability by class, or at least a note on which classes have limited seats.
• RTE information for schools that admit students under the Right to Education 25% quota, with a link to the state portal process.
• Enquiry form, click-to-call and WhatsApp on the admissions page and in a sticky bar on mobile.

Fee structure and payment details

Fees are the most searched and most avoided topic on school websites. Many schools prefer to discuss fees in person, but a parent who cannot find even a range often assumes the worst or skips the school. Publishing fees also reduces the number of tours booked by families who were never going to afford the school, which saves your admission team time.

If your state has a fee regulation framework, such as the fee regulation committees in several states, mention that fees follow it. It reassures parents and shows the school has nothing to hide.

Academics, board and curriculum

• Board affiliation with the affiliation number and validity, linked to the board's own listing where possible.
• Curriculum approach by stage: foundational, preparatory, middle and secondary, in line with NEP 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework if you follow it.
• Subjects offered at Class 11-12, by stream, including any combinations that are not available.
• Assessment approach: how often tests happen, how progress is reported, and how parents see it.
• Board results for recent years, shown honestly: pass percentage, average and the number of students above key score bands. Avoid showing only toppers.
• Co-curricular programmes: sports, music, robotics, Olympiads, with the actual coaching and facilities behind them.

CBSE mandatory public disclosure

CBSE-affiliated schools are required to publish a mandatory public disclosure on their website, covering school details, documents, results, staff and infrastructure in the format CBSE specifies. Many schools upload it once and forget it. Keep it current, link it from the footer, and check the current CBSE circular for the exact format. Other boards and state departments have their own requirements, so confirm what applies to your school.

Safety, transport and facilities

For parents of younger children, safety often outweighs academics in the shortlist. These pages need specifics, not adjectives.

• Campus safety: CCTV coverage, visitor management, staff background verification, female attendants on buses, medical room and nurse.
• Transport: route map or list of areas served, pick-up and drop timings, GPS tracking, bus attendants, fees by slab.
• Child protection and POCSO policy summary, with the name of the committee or designated contact.
• Infrastructure: classrooms, labs, library, sports facilities, with real photos and the year they were last upgraded.
• School timings and calendar for each section, including day-care or after-school options if offered.
• Fire safety and building certificates where your board or state requires them to be displayed.

People and proof

Parents choose teachers as much as buildings. Show who will be teaching their child and what other parents say.

• Principal's message that is short and specific about the school's approach, with a recent photo.
• Leadership and faculty: names, qualifications and years of experience for heads of section and key teachers.
• Parent testimonials with first names and class, or short videos recorded with consent.
• Google reviews surfaced on the site and a link to your Google Business Profile.
• Alumni: where your Class 12 students went next, with permission.
• News and events kept current. A news page whose latest post is two years old suggests the school has stopped caring.

Enquiry and conversion tools

Your website's job during admissions is to get parents to visit. Every page should make that easy, and the enquiry tools should feed your admission team immediately.

1. Book a school tour with a calendar of available slots, including Saturdays.
2. Short enquiry form: parent name, mobile number, child's class sought and preferred branch if you have more than one. Ask for the rest during the call. See our guide to admission form optimisation for field-by-field advice.
3. WhatsApp Business link with a pre-filled message such as "I want admission details for Class 3".
4. Click-to-call to a number that is answered during admission hours.
5. Downloadable prospectus in a lightweight PDF, offered in exchange for a mobile number if you want, but never forced.
6. Instant acknowledgement by WhatsApp or SMS after every enquiry, and a CRM that assigns the lead to a counsellor. Our guide to the best CRM for schools compares options.

If you run paid campaigns for admissions, send that traffic to a dedicated page rather than the homepage. Our article on admission landing page best practices explains how to build one.

Technical and compliance checks

• Mobile-friendly layout tested on a low-cost Android phone, not only on the designer's laptop.
• Fast loading: compress images and avoid autoplay videos on the homepage. Our Core Web Vitals guide for education websites explains what to measure.
• HTTPS across every page, including forms and PDFs.
• Privacy notice and consent on forms in line with the DPDP Act 2023, which sets stricter rules for processing children's data. Explain why you collect each detail and how parents can request deletion.
• Google Business Profile for each branch, with the same name, address and phone as the website. See local SEO for schools.
• GA4 and Search Console set up, with form submissions, calls and WhatsApp clicks tracked as events.
• Accessible design: readable font sizes, sufficient colour contrast, alt text on images.
• Hindi or regional language versions of the admissions and fee pages if many parents in your catchment prefer them.

Common mistakes on Indian school websites

When to use this checklist

Most CBSE and ICSE schools in metro cities open admissions for the next academic year between October and December, though dates vary by city and state rules; Delhi's nursery admission schedule, for example, is notified by the Directorate of Education. Run through this checklist at least six weeks before your window opens, so content changes, photography and form fixes are done before parents start searching. If you are planning a full rebuild, use the checklist as the content brief for your developer.

For help with a new site or a rebuild, see our education website design service and the wider web development services for schools and colleges. For marketing the school once the site is ready, our school admission marketing guides cover search, social and campaigns.