is your website answering questions, or creating them?

Imagine walking into a building where the signs use words you don’t understand, the information you need is behind a locked door, and everyone speaks in acronyms. You’d walk straight back out. Plenty of websites do the digital equivalent every day.

Education sites have it harder than most, because they serve so many audiences at once. Here’s how to make yours clearer.

1. swap jargon for plain English

Internal language creeps in easily: course codes, department names, funding terms. To a 17-year-old or a parent, it’s noise. Try the ten-second test. Show your homepage to someone outside your organisation for ten seconds, then ask what you offer and who for. If they hesitate, rewrite it.

2. keep the navigation simple

When every department wants a place in the main menu, visitors freeze. Keep the main menu to five to seven clear items, group the rest logically, and make the next step obvious on every page, whether that’s “apply”, “book an open day” or “get in touch”.

3. build on a clean foundation

• Speed: people expect pages to load instantly.
• Structure: a well-organised site helps search engines and AI search tools understand what you offer.
• Mobile first: most of your audience will find you on a phone.

4. design for everyone

Clear type, good contrast and descriptive links aren’t extras. They’re how you make sure every visitor can find what they need.

5. answer the real questions

List the ten questions people ask your admissions or enquiries team most often. Then check your website answers each one in under two clicks. It’s the quickest audit you’ll ever do.