Does my childcare centre need a new website?

A dated design does not automatically require a rebuild. The better question is whether the current site can be made accurate, accessible, fast and easy for staff to maintain.

Keep and improve the current site when:

• staff can update fees, vacancies, rooms and key pages without a developer;
• the site works well on mobile;
• forms reliably reach the right person;
• pages load quickly and remain stable;
• accessibility issues can be fixed within the existing system;
• the structure supports clear local information and future content.

Consider rebuilding when:

• the system is unsupported or insecure;
• ordinary updates require code or repeated contractor work;
• mobile navigation or forms are fundamentally broken;
• information is duplicated across pages and cannot be governed reliably;
• performance problems cannot be resolved without replacing the platform;
• the site cannot meet reasonable accessibility needs;
• the service has multiple locations but the structure cannot support distinct local pages.

Before commissioning anything, write the jobs the website must do. For most services these include explaining the centre, showing current practical information, supporting family decisions, collecting appropriate enquiries and making tours easier to arrange.

Use WCAG 2.2 as an accessibility reference and Core Web Vitals as one performance measure. ^R12R13 Neither a new platform nor a new theme guarantees a good result; ownership and content governance matter after launch.

Ask prospective suppliers:

• Who owns the domain, content and analytics?
• Can staff export their data?
• How are privacy, backups, security and updates handled?
• What happens if the supplier closes?
• Can key pages be edited without support tickets?

Practical next step: score the current site against accuracy, mobile use, accessibility, performance, maintainability and enquiry reliability. Rebuild only where repair is not credible or economical.

Related guides

• How to add a CCS calculator or tour booking to a childcare website
• What a childcare centre website should include
• How can a childcare centre be found on Google?