Why not have my students build the school’s Web site?
While highlighting student learning and skills is an excellent idea, it shouldn’t be the public image you portray. Unless you are an advanced level Web Design School, it’s just a bad idea. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, while you are proud of the work your students produce, the average student doesn’t have the skill sets to develop, design, write, and maintain a comprehensive Web site. What is more likely is that they have some of the skills, but not all. To be fair, it isn’t even likely that any of your adult staff has all the skill sets required since most firms that do this professionally hire different people who contribute the various aspects of the Web site development (graphic designers, programmers, copywriters, public relations experts, etc.).
Secondly, even if you were to have several gifted students who, with their combined skills, do an excellent job of developing a Web site, those students will eventually graduate and the continuity will go with them.
Solution? Encourage your students to build and manage a student Web site (with staff oversight, of course). Use this forum to let them shine and then link to it from the school Web site. Make it easy to find, but don’t make it the professional image that represents the school, its administration, and staff. Everybody wins. The school Web site keeps its focus on the needs of parents and the community and the student Web site satisifies their primary audience–the students.
