How to build a childcare or school website in WordPress

Start with the questions a parent will ask before contacting you. Create a short site map with Home, About, Programmes, Admissions, Fees, Staff, News or Events and Contact. Add location, opening hours, age groups, availability and the next action on the pages where they belong.

Use Pages for information that is not date-based, and use posts for news or regular updates. WordPress lets you organise pages into parent and child pages, but keep the main menu short so it remains usable on a phone.

For the manual route, activate a theme that supports the block editor and build the site with Group, Columns, Cover, Image, Buttons, Query Loop and Navigation blocks. If you use a block theme, go to Appearance > Editor to edit templates, headers, footers, styles and navigation. With a classic theme, use Appearance > Customize and the page editor instead.

This route is fine for a small brochure site. Its drawback is that you must create the visual system yourself, and WordPress does not provide a childcare-specific programme directory, event calendar or enrolment workflow by default.

Go to Pages > Add New, create each page, add its content with blocks and publish it when ready. Build the homepage from clear sections: a short introduction, a prominent enquiry button, age groups or programmes, reasons to choose the centre, key dates, location and a final contact prompt. Use one main call to action, such as Book a visit or Ask about a place.

Set a featured image where your theme uses one, and add useful alternative text to informative images. Do not put essential information only inside an image. WordPress pages can use different templates, so check the selected template if a page suddenly loses its expected width or header.

Add your logo, phone number or enquiry button to the header, then create a menu containing only the pages parents use most. A practical order is Home, Programmes, Admissions, About, News and Contact. Put less important links, such as policies and staff vacancies, in the footer.

In a block theme, edit the Navigation block in Appearance > Editor. In a classic theme, use Appearance > Menus or the theme’s menu settings. Only published pages appear as normal page links. A common Friday problem is changing the header or switching themes and finding that the mobile menu is empty; check that a menu is assigned to the correct location and test the hamburger menu separately.

WordPress can present text, images and links without extra software, but interactive features usually need a plugin or a service. Add a contact or visit-request form, then configure where submissions are sent and test delivery from a different email address. For events, use posts or a simple page if you only have occasional dates; use an events plugin if parents need recurring classes, registrations, reminders or calendar views.

For admissions or child-related enquiries, collect only the information you need, explain how it will be used and protect submissions. Add your privacy policy and make the contact details easy to find. Do not publish children’s names, photographs or personal information without the appropriate permissions.

Preview every important page on a phone, tablet and desktop. Test the menu, buttons, contact form, map, telephone link, email link and any event or admissions workflow. Check that text has enough contrast, headings follow a logical order, images have appropriate alternative text and pages do not depend on colour alone.

Also confirm that the homepage is set correctly under Settings > Reading, permalinks work, the site title and logo are correct, and there is a backup before launch. Ask someone who does not know the site to find fees, opening hours and the enquiry form; their hesitation usually reveals a layout problem.

If you do not want to assemble the layouts yourself, use Ascen, a childcare and kids education WordPress theme. It is designed around childcare centres, kindergartens and educational institutions, with responsive layouts, homepage options, event displays, class schedules, contact forms and compatibility with Elementor.

Install the theme from Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme, activate it, then import or configure its layouts and replace the demo content with your own programmes, fees, photographs, policies and contact details. You still need to check every form, event date, mobile menu and privacy setting before publishing.