Blog

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Our blog delves into the technical, tactical, and inspirational ways to tell your stories beautifully and successfully.

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Leveraging APIs in Web Development: Enhancing School Websites with Blackbaud Integration for WordPress

Design TLC is uniquely positioned to integrate the Blackbaud API into a WordPress website for schools. Check out the website we created for The Renbrook School to see an example of how this combination comes to life. Read on to learn more about APIs, and how Blackbaud and WordPress can…

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TaraLauren Thank you Tara!

Why I Love Working for Design TLC

by Lauren Krieger, Client & Creative Service Associate As much of my day is spent working, it is important to me that a job provides more than just an income, but an investment in myself; a job that provides inspiration and opportunity for learning and growth, the satisfaction of feeling…

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Top 5 Ranking Factors for Local Organic SEO for Schools

Independent school marketers recognize the importance of having a strong online presence to attract prospective students and parents. Organic local search engine optimization (SEO) plays a crucial role in ensuring that schools appear prominently in search results when individuals look for educational institutions in their area. Organic vs. Paid SEO…

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myriam-jessier-eveI7MOcSmw-unsplash Courtesy of Myriam Jessier on Unsplash.

Enhance your small school marketing with Looker Studio and GA4

Data analytics plays a pivotal role in understanding user behavior and optimizing strategies for success— it’s how digital marketers understand what is working and what isn’t in their strategy. There are several tools for tracking performance and analyzing data, including Google Analytics and Looker Studio. Google Analytics has long been…

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sigmund-OV44gxH71DU-unsplash-1 Courtesy of Sigmund on Unsplash.

10 Must-Haves for Every Montessori School Website

The Montessori philosophy, focusing on a child’s independence and sense of responsibility, is a unique education option parents often choose for their child. To stand out and effectively engage interested parents browsing your Montessori school’s website, your website must have several crucial elements to take a curious school parent through…

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souvik-banerjee-WPrNEM_6dg-unsplash Courtesy of Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash.

Six WordPress Plugins To Consider for the Best School Website

Did you know that WordPress powers 455 million websites worldwide? Given its popularity, it’s no secret that we think WordPress is the best school website design option! There area number of website platforms available for schools, including proprietary CMS platforms like Finalsite. Since WordPress is Open Source software, this means…

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school-website-user Courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Is Your Small School Website Design Succeeding?

5 Things To Check to Measure School Website Success A high-functioning, effective school website is a must for your small school! While a successful private school website doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg, it is a significant investment for your school and requires special attention when budgeting…

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How to Highlight Your Faculty Directory in Your School Website Content

Your school website content should be easy and interesting to navigate, and this includes your faculty and staff directory. Interested parents who may want to enroll their child in your school may spend a significant amount of time scanning through your faculty directory to learn more about your school culture. …

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carlos-muza-hpjSkU2UYSU-unsplash Courtesy of Carlos Muza on Unsplash.

Using Your School Website’s Data to Increase Enrollment

Data is one of the most critical assets to a website— but understanding how to use that data and apply it to your school content marketing and enrollment strategy is key to leveling up your website. Though it may seem daunting to beginners, analyzing website data can be broken up…

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kelly-sikkema-gcHFXsdcmJE-unsplash Courtesy of Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.

Ready for a school website redesign? Read these 5 tips first.

If you are preparing to redesign your small school’s website, congratulations! A school website redesign is a long, comprehensive process that requires strong planning, strategy, and execution to be positively impactful to your school marketing strategy.  However, due to the complex nature of a redesign, it is important to prepare…

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google brett jordan Courtesy of Brett Jordan on Unsplash.

SEO for Schools: Optimizing with Google Search Console

The SEO marketing strategy for your small school or nonprofit organization should have a focus on the traffic and overall performance of your website. Tools like Google Search Console exist to ensure your website’s marketing and SEO strategies are maximized.  Unfortunately, most businesses and organizations do not use Google Search…

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emiliano-vittoriosi-kdNhf7vJSik-unsplash Courtesy of Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash.

ChatGPT Prompts to Support Your Small School’s Marketing Strategy

ChatGPT is upleveling the marketing game for many industries, including education. For the busy small school marketer working with limited staffing and resources, ChatGPT could be a lifesaver in developing content like social media copy, blog posts, marketing emails, and more. We recently published a blog post about the potential…

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SEO-for-schools Photo by Justin Morgan on Unsplash

10 Tips for SEO Schools Should Know About

In the competitive world of private schools, having a well-designed and optimized website is essential for attracting potential students and their families. The website is often the first point of contact for parents looking for information about the school, and it can play a crucial role in their decision-making process….

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Should you use ChatGPT and other AI for your school marketing?

If you haven’t seen it already, ChatGPT is taking up much of today’s news cycles in a number of industries, including tech, healthcare, education, and more. Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT (or “Generative Pre-Transformer”) is a machine learning language model that is trained on an exceptionally large dataset of information to…

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How your web host could help or hurt your website performance

One of the first questions people may ask web designers when planning out their website is: Does it really matter where my website is hosted, or if it is hosted at all? In short, yes! The hosting environment you choose for your school website can impact security, SEO, user experience…

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kenny-eliason-zFSo6bnZJTw-unsplash-1024x637-1 Courtesy of Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.

Which Enrollment Management Platform is Best for Your Small School or Camp?

By Emily Hannah With any small school or children’s camp, a main goal will always be attracting new prospective students. While marketing your school and getting the attention of these new students is one process, guiding them through the entire marketing funnel to enrollment, and managing that complex process in…

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myriam-zilles-L3FwT4qMeT0-unsplash Courtesy of Myriam Zilles on Unsplash.

2022 School and Nonprofit Website Wrap Up – Our Year in Review

It is hard to believe, but 2022 is coming to a close— happy holidays and happy New Year! What a whirlwind this year has been. While we can’t wait to see what next year holds, the holiday season gives an opportunity to look back and reflect on this past year…

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lore-schodts-bNPIoil02tU-unsplash-scaled Courtesy of Lore Schodts on Unsplash.

How To Practice Values-Based Gift-Giving This Holiday Season

The holiday season is officially upon us! With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, people begin frantically purchasing gifts for Christmas, especially with the enticing Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals.  While purchasing and giving gifts at Christmas time is a joy to some, it can be a chore to others….

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claudia-raya-yvamSKr8wBA-unsplash Photo by Claudia Raya on Unsplash

4 Ways to Prepare Your Nonprofit Website for The Holiday Campaign Season

The holiday season can become chaotic for nonprofit organizations very quickly; when it comes to prepping for the holiday campaign season, the busiest season of the year, it’s best to plan as early as possible. Now that we’re in November, most (if not all) tactical planning around your nonprofit organization’s…

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hannah-busing-Zyx1bK9mqmA-unsplash Courtesy of Hannah Busing on Unsplash.

Your Nonprofit’s Comprehensive Website Maintenance Checklist

Maintaining a website is no easy feat; it takes lots of effort to carry out through the year. This is especially true for a nonprofit, already running with limited time and resources. Understanding and planning out the laundry list of website maintenance can be daunting— how often should the analytics…

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