School Website Checklist for Missouri K–12 Districts
A school website should help families, staff, and community members find the information they need without calling the office for every routine question. If your district is planning website improvements, begin with those everyday tasks before choosing colors, layouts, or a new platform.
This checklist gives Missouri K–12 school leaders a practical starting point for discussing a website project with staff and a development partner.
1. List the tasks families need to complete
Ask office staff which questions they answer most often. Common starting points include calendars, enrollment information, meal information, staff contacts, transportation resources, and announcements.
Make a list of your district’s most important tasks, then try to complete each one on the current website. Record where the information is missing, outdated, or hard to locate.
2. Check the site on a phone
Families may look up information between other responsibilities. Open the website on a phone and check whether navigation labels make sense, text is readable, and links are easy to select.
Try the calendar, a school contact page, and an important announcement. A desktop page that looks fine can still be awkward on a smaller screen.
3. Decide who owns each section
A new design does not solve unclear publishing responsibilities. Identify who updates calendars, announcements, department pages, staff contacts, and district resources. Assign a backup person where needed.
Agree on how staff submit changes and who reviews them. Match publishing access to each person’s responsibilities, and plan how access changes when staff roles change.
4. Review documents alongside web pages
Important information can be buried in files with unclear names or outdated versions. Review the documents families use most and decide which information would be easier to maintain directly on a web page.
Include document usability and your district’s accessibility requirements in the project scope. A visual redesign alone does not establish that every page and document meets those requirements.
5. Map your existing tools
List the systems linked from your website, such as calendars, forms, learning resources, and other district services. Identify which links simply send visitors to another service and which features need a more involved connection.
For each connection, discuss who maintains it and how staff would notice a failure. Keep public website content separate from information that requires controlled access.
6. Plan the launch around the school calendar
Choose a timeline that allows staff to review content, learn the publishing workflow, and test the site before families depend on it. Identify busy periods when a launch or training session would be difficult.
Make a launch checklist covering key links, forms, redirects from old pages, staff contacts, and the person responsible for resolving issues.
7. Define success in practical terms
A school website serves a different goal from a sales website. Useful outcomes might include fewer calls about routine information, clearer ownership of updates, or fewer broken links in commonly used resources.
Select a few measures you can realistically review. Use staff feedback and families’ questions alongside website data to decide which pages need further attention.
What to bring to a website planning conversation
- Your current website address and district contacts.
- The tasks families find difficult today.
- Your existing platforms and publishing responsibilities.
- Your accessibility, privacy, security, and procurement requirements.
- Your target timeline and available project budget.
- What you want the website to improve for families and staff.
Discuss your district’s website needs
Moss Media is based in Park Hills and serves nearby Missouri communities, including Farmington, Festus, rural districts, and the St. Louis area within roughly 60 miles. Explore our K–12 school websites, IT support, and communication services, or contact us about your district’s project.
