Mater Dei High School: Education Website and Digital Strategy
TL;DR:
- Challenge: Build website serving multiple audiences for premier Catholic high school
- Approach: Multi-phase development with admissions portal, athletics integration, and community features
- Result: Platform serving prospective families, students, parents, and athletics community
At a Glance
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Client | Mater Dei High School |
| Industry | Education / Private Schools |
| Location | Santa Ana, California |
| Challenge | Serve multiple distinct audiences through unified digital presence |
| Solution | Admissions portal, athletics integration, community-focused design |
| Approach | Multi-phase development |
The Challenge: One Website, Multiple Audiences
Mater Dei High School is one of California's premier Catholic high schools. A national athletics powerhouse with multiple state championships. Strong academic programs sending graduates to top universities. Deep community ties spanning generations of alumni.
The digital challenge: a school website must serve radically different audiences with different needs. Prospective families researching admissions want program information and application guidance. Current students need daily announcements and resources. Parents track events, grades, and school news. Alumni seek connection and giving opportunities. Athletics fans follow schedules, scores, and recruiting news.
One website. Five distinct user journeys. Each audience needs to find what they're looking for without wading through content meant for others.
The Solution: Audience-Centered Education Platform
We developed a multi-phase website project designed around how each audience actually uses the site.
Admissions Portal
The prospective family journey from first inquiry to enrollment:
- Clear program overviews communicating Mater Dei's distinctive value
- Application information with deadlines and requirements
- Inquiry forms capturing family information
- Virtual tour integration and visit scheduling
- FAQ addressing common prospective family questions
Athletics Integration
Mater Dei athletics draws significant attention. The website needed to:
- Display schedules across all sports programs
- Integrate scores and standings
- Feature team news and achievements
- Support the athletics community's engagement
Community Infrastructure
Beyond admissions and athletics:
- Event calendar for school-wide activities
- News and announcements keeping families informed
- Faculty and staff directory
- Mobile-responsive design recognizing that parents check on phones between meetings
Multi-Phase Development
Complex projects require phased execution. We delivered incrementally:
- Phase 1: Core site architecture and primary content
- Phase 2: Admissions portal and application workflow
- Phase 3: Athletics integration and enhanced features
The Results
- Unified digital presence serving prospective families, students, parents, alumni, and athletics community
- Streamlined admissions with portal guiding families from inquiry through enrollment
- Community hub connecting thousands through events, news, and shared information
Key Takeaway
Education websites aren't brochures—they're operational infrastructure for how a school community communicates. A site serving prospective families, current students, parents, alumni, and athletics fans requires deliberate information architecture that lets each audience find what they need without friction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a high school website include?
A high school website should include admissions information and application portal, academic program details, athletics schedules and news, calendar of events, parent and student portals, faculty directory, and news/announcements. Mobile responsiveness is essential since parents and students access on phones. For private schools, the site also serves as primary marketing collateral for prospective families.
How do you build an admissions portal for schools?
Building an admissions portal for schools requires inquiry forms, application submission workflow, document upload capability, application status tracking, and integration with student information systems. The portal should guide families through deadlines, requirements, and next steps. Clear calls-to-action move visitors from browsing to inquiring to applying.
What is athletics website integration for schools?
Athletics website integration connects school websites with sports scheduling, scores, rosters, and news. This may involve integration with platforms like MaxPreps or custom solutions that pull data from athletics management systems. For schools with strong athletic programs, this section often receives significant traffic and needs real-time accuracy.
How do private schools approach digital marketing?
Private schools approach digital marketing through brand positioning that communicates their unique value proposition, SEO targeting prospective family searches, virtual tour and visit scheduling, testimonials and outcomes data, and targeted advertising to geographic areas where prospective families live. The website is the hub, with social media and advertising driving traffic to it.
Technologies Used
- Custom website development
- Admissions portal and workflow
- Athletics data integration
- Event calendar system
- Mobile-responsive framework
- Content management system
- Multi-phase project delivery