Why choose KiwiSchools?
What’s so different about a KiwiSchools website?
At KiwiSchools we pride ourselves on building vibrant engaging websites that support robust community engagement whilst being easy to maintain. We believe our portfolio and customer testimonials speak for themselves. Check out some of our sites here
You talk about taking Community Engagement to the “next level.” What does this actually mean?
Community Engagement is in the core curriculum. Of course your school manages the "face to face" aspect of engaging with parents/whanau.
Here at Kiwischools, we have designed a suite of digital technologies, powerful, easy-to-use tools to reach out to your parent and local community: A vibrant, up-to-date website, an app so on-the-go parents can be informed of urgent or important events, and an eNewsletter builder to keep everyone informed, easily accessible on the website and app.
We say "next level" because these communication tools are all beautifully integrated in KiwiSchools Central, making it quite painless for busy staff to reach out to parents with important information.
Our old site gets hardly any visitors. How would that change with KiwiSchools?
At KiwiSchools all our websites are custom designed to reflect the values and culture of your school. It is hard to get families to engage with a website that doesn’t reflect them or their tamariki so we ensure that your site showcases all that is awesome about your school, encouraging a sense of pride from your school community. You can read more about getting community engagement with your website here
I am so busy! Won't it be time-consuming to change our website?
At KiwiSchools we take the hard work out of the move. From end to end project management, copying existing content, and training to support you in updating your new site, we have the whole process covered.
We only have a small budget. Can we afford a new site?
At KiwiSchools we have a website to suit every budget and our partner schools range in size from 12 students to 2000. Our annual subscriptions are based on roll size so if you have under 100 students you won’t be paying the same as a school that has 600+ students. Prices from $2500 +GST
Features
It's hard to find time to keep content up to date. Surely there is an easier way?
Ensuring you choose a website provider with easy editing tools can make this sometimes arduous job a breeze for busy administrators.
The “all in one place” content updating solution provided by KiwiSchools Central makes updating easy and avoids duplication e.g. website AND app notifications.
Using tools like embedded calendars and Facebook feeds are one way to keep your content current.
The “all in one place” content updating solution provided by KiwiSchools Central makes updating easy and avoids duplication e.g. website AND app notifications.
Using tools like embedded calendars and Facebook feeds are one way to keep your content current.
We're just a small school. Do we actually need a website?
While a website is an important tool for keeping your community up to date it is also a legal requirement. Under Section 136 of the Education and Training Act 2020, school boards are required to make their school’s annual report available to the public on an internet site maintained by or on behalf of the board. (MOE, 2021 - source)
What is the advantage of having online forms?
Imagine all the unnecessary paperwork and phone calls disappearing overnight. Online Absence, Contact, and Enrolment forms all emailed to the appropriate person saves valuable time and removes the messy paper trail.
Does my website need to translate to other languages?
We live in a connected world, and increasingly have students enrolled whose first language is not English (Even more so for their parents). Offering translation is a fantastic way of ensuring that all of your parent community are included in any communications you send out. From newsletters to calendars, having the ability to translate into a parent/caregiver’s native language can make all the difference to participation within the school community. It is also essential if you are looking to attract international students.
Technical stuff!
What about people visiting our site on their phones or tablets?
It is frustrating when you open a website on your mobile and it is either so tiny you can't read it or it cuts off important information.
Websites these days must be optimised for smaller screens — the technical term is "responsive" meaning the content automatically adjusts and reformats on smartphones or tablets.
Websites these days must be optimised for smaller screens — the technical term is "responsive" meaning the content automatically adjusts and reformats on smartphones or tablets.
I've heard that websites need to be "secure." What does this mean?
For several years now, Google has been requiring websites to be delivered using “https://” rather than “http://” The “s” in “https” stands for secure, which indicates that the site is using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate.
All KiwiSchools sites are automatically secure.
Using SSL shows the world you are a good digital citizen. Oh, and NOT using SSL means your site will be punished in search result rankings, making your site harder to find.
All KiwiSchools sites are automatically secure.
Using SSL shows the world you are a good digital citizen. Oh, and NOT using SSL means your site will be punished in search result rankings, making your site harder to find.
What is a broken link?
A broken or dead link is a hyperlink on a web page that links to nowhere!
It's a sure sign that your site is not receiving enough TLC! KiwiSchools manages the creation and deletion of web pages, minimising the risk of disappointment for website visitors.
It's a sure sign that your site is not receiving enough TLC! KiwiSchools manages the creation and deletion of web pages, minimising the risk of disappointment for website visitors.
