Case Study - The David Ross Education Trust
The David Ross Education Trust approached us in April 2019 with its ambitious plans to redesign & rebuild its entire digital estate consisting of 34 schools plus a Trust website. And deliver within a very demanding timeframe of just 8 weeks.
The issues the Trust identified with their existing websites were limited CMS functionality, a poor user experience and the inability to centrally manage certain content across the Trusts school websites. The Trust also wished to provide schools with an easy to use CMS as well as having a cost effective way to provide new websites to schools who may join the trust in the future.
It was a complex brief and we were happy to break it down and go into a lot of detail about how we thought we could help and the options we would recommend.
Delivering A Complex Project - The David Ross Education Trust
Once the Trust were satisfied with our track record and ability to deliver, it was time to prepare a project plan and get started.
We divided the project into 2 groups - a team looking after the 11 Secondary Schools and a team looking after the 23 primary schools with a dedicated project manager to coordinate everything. After a detailed briefing discussion, each design team went to work preparing a draft design for the lead school primary school and the lead secondary school. As the trust had opted for a family shared design model, the lead schools would inform the design and layout for the rest of the schools.
We pulled out all the stops with the design and the team refined a number of fantastic looking drafts before the designs for each phase were finalised.
23 Primary School websites, 11 Secondary School websites and one Trust website, delivered in 8 weeks
Development - The David Ross Education Trust
It was then over to the development team to code up the approved design - adding all the dynamic elements and rollovers to help bring the design to life and provide that special wow factor. A rollout program was agreed with the Trust so once the lead school websites were built, the team could work through each school in the agreed order.
In the background, our content team had been liaising with the schools and the Trust to determine the menus and pages which would appear on each school website. As each website was built the content team added the content.
Launch - The David Ross Education Trust
Prior to each launch our trainers delivered training to the staff at each school who would be responsible for updating the website content on an ongoing basis. And of course our support team were on hand to provide unlimited support whenever called upon.
In this way, throughout the 8 week period, our teams worked through each school on the Trust until finally, every school launched their new website.
In parallel, we also worked on the Trust website as a separate design and development stream. The Trust site features a number of great features such as a dynamic, searchable map of all schools in the trust, a staff gallery and multi panel home page with embedded videos and social media.
The Setup Fee
Our setup fee includes creating your design, creating an initial menu and page structure and entering any content you have already written or which appears on your existing website.
To keep our services affordable we firstly keep our own costs low by, minimising travel and visits (which also keeps our carbon emissions low).
Secondly, whilst we aim to create as many pages and transfer as much existing content as possible to your new website, we may also ask some schools with very large sites to participate in the page creation process. So for example, if you wish to go live with more than c50 pages, we would help you to add them yourselves.
Similarly, for photos, we would create a gallery with a few photos for you, then help you to add the rest. For news and diary items, we add 5 of each for you.
Again, although this will not affect most of the schools we work with, by working together in this way, we can keep our prices low for everyone.
The Annual Fee
Our annual support and maintenance fee includes unlimited support by telephone or email, training resources, hosting, SSL secure certificate and the license to use the Greenhouse Content Management System.
Curriculum Popups
Cost: £120
A great use of space is to use popup windows with eye-catching icons to articulate the depth and diversity of your curriculum.
Examples: Hilden Grange Prep School, Eastbourne Academy
Background Video
Cost: £195
Add the ultimate wow factor to your website. We can create your website home page with a full-screen background video as the first thing visitors will see.
Examples: Hilden Grange Prep School, Cottesmore School
Animated statistics
Cost: £195
If you have some key statistics you wish to highlight on your website home page, why not add some eye catching animation?
Examples: Hilden Grange School, Eastbourne Academy
Wide Design
Cost: £195
Make the most of the screen space which modern displays provide. Extra responsive code ensures that it will re-format to fit on lower resolution desktops and tablets.
Examples: Octavia House Schools, Clevedon School
Social Media Wall
Cost: £195
This is a great way to combine your social media feeds into a single timeline "wall", sliding out from the right of the screen.
Examples: Brampton Manor Academy, Ripon Cathedral School