How to Build a Website For Your Tutoring Business

You’ve decided on a tutoring business name, and you’ve created a logo for your business. The next step is to get your business online with a website.

In this article, we’ll look at a few different tools that you can use to build a website. We’ll also look at the different sections you may want to add to ensure a pleasant browsing experience.

Options for Building a Website

If you don’t have any coding experience, there are two options for getting your website up and running:

1. Use a website builder to build your own website
2. Hire a developer to build a website for you

Using a Website Builder:

Building your own website is the most cost effective approach for those starting out. If you’ve never built a website before, some patience will be required while you learn a new system. 

There are plenty of website builders that allow you to build websites visually including: Wix, Squarespace and WordPress. Each of these have detailed documentation on how to get your website up and running, so spend time on familiarizing yourself with the system before diving in.

Hiring a Developer:

If you’re pressed for time or you’re not comfortable with building your own website, it might be best to hire a developer to create a website for you.

Websites such as Fiverr and UpWork have many freelance developers that offer reasonable prices. If you decide to go this route, make sure that you review a developer’s previous work as well as comments and ratings from past clients before hiring them.

If you’re hiring a developer, it’s important to provide them with all the information they need to create the website that you have in mind. You could draw out wireframes on paper, or draw diagrams with the website structure you want to make sure they’re clear on your requirements.

General Tips for Building an Effective Website

• Look at some competitor websites to see which keywords they use, what content they have, design elements and general structure for their website.
• Use your research above to create a checklist of what you’ll be adding to your website and how it will look.
• Don’t start your website from scratch unless it will be very basic. Most website builders have templates, so find one that’s close to what you want and customize it as needed.
• Set clear goals of what you want users to do when they reach your website. For example:
• Do you want them to be able to easily contact you? Then you’ll need to add a contact form, email address and phone number.
• Do you want them to be able to book lessons? Then you may want to look at booking plugins or use tutor management software that offers this functionality for free (more about this below).
• Avoid using images that you find on Google unless you have clear permission to use the images on your website. Using stock images is a great way to make sure that you’re not breaking any copyright laws since you can download a license along with your images. 
• You can use sites such as Freepik or Shutterstock to find images with licenses. 
• Most images on stock image sites need to be purchased, so you may want to download sample versions with watermarks first and try them out on your website before buying images. 
• In some cases, only an attribution is required, so if you’re looking for something that’s free this might be a good choice. Some templates also include a few free images.
• Brush up on your SEO knowledge to make sure your website content is optimized for search engines. A website won’t add too much value if prospective clients can’t find you. Pages need titles, descriptions, links (internal and external), relevant content and keywords. Images need alt tags. Here’s a detailed guide created by Moz to help you get started: ​​The Beginner’s Guide to SEO

Adding Pages and Content

Tutoring websites typically have the following sections:

1. Homepage: You should place the strongest focus on your homepage since this is the first page prospective clients will see. 

This page can include the following:

• Your logo and tutoring business name
• An eye catching header image
• A headline and subtitle above the fold that will encourage people to keep reading
• High level information about your services (with links to the relevant pages)
• Two or three client reviews with a link to read more
• A call to action to sign up for your services
• A navigation bar that makes it easy for people to navigate your website (this should be visible on all pages)

2. About Section: This page is where you can share your story with prospective clients. Tell them why you decided to start a tutoring business, provide more information about your specialties, and give them peace of mind by sharing more about your experience. 

Adding a picture of yourself will also add a personal touch.

3. Tutoring Services: A section outlining the services you offer is a must for any tutoring business. On this page, organize content in a logical way to make it easy for prospective clients to scan through. Avoid large walls of text and focus only on the relevant information they need to make a choice.

4. Tutor & Staff Profiles: This page can be tied in with your About page/section or it can be separate. Here you can showcase your tutors and staff, their skills and their milestones. Providing prospective clients with this information will help to build trust and make it more likely for them to sign up for your services.

5. Reviews: Reviews are great for providing social proof that your business is worth someone’s time and money. You may not have reviews to share when you’re just starting out, but over time you can ask your most loyal clients for a blurb to share on your website.

6. Pricing Page: It’s important to have a page or section on your website where you can provide transparency about your pricing structure. Don’t be unclear in the hope that clients will follow up for more information. Confusing or vague pricing information might work against you and encourage clients to look elsewhere.

7. Booking Option: A booking button or form on your website is a great way to get prospective clients to sign up for your services just because it’s so easy and convenient. They don’t have to phone or email to book a lesson, they can just do it themselves at any time of the day.

8. Contact Information/Form: Sometimes, prospective clients have questions. It’s important to make it as easy as possible for them to get in touch with you. Adding a contact form and contact information to your website in a highly visible spot is a must.

Using Tutor Management Software To Extend Website Functionality

Using software that offers features that can be integrated with your website by simply pasting in some code will save time and provide your prospective clients with a frictionless experience when they visit your website.

Teachworks is tutor management software that offers more than 55 free integrations and add-ons. Many of these can be tweaked visually and then added directly to your website. Below is a quick overview of some of these features:

1. Website Booking Plugin: This add-on allows you to add a booking button or link to your website to allow students to book lessons, join open classes or enroll in courses. Lessons are added to your Teachworks account automatically and profiles are created based on the information entered on the booking form. You can combine it with our Stripe Integration to accept upfront payments. 
2. Custom Forms Add-on: This add-on is ideal for accepting enrollment information (and employee applications) directly on your website. The information entered on the form is used to create a prospective profile in your Teachworks account. 
3. Website Profiles Add-on: This add-on makes it easy to add an “about us” section to your website with information from your tutors’ profiles. You have full control over the information that gets displayed and you can choose between a grid or list format. You can tweak colours in Teachworks, visually, to ensure it matches your website’s color scheme perfectly.
4. Inquiry Form Add-on: This simple add-on allows you to add an inquiry form to your website to make it easy for website visitors to get in touch. You’ll get an email once an inquiry is submitted and you’ll be able to easily track inquiries on your Teachworks dashboard.
5. Remote Login Add-on: This add-on allows you to add a login form to your website that existing clients and employees can use to easily access their Teachworks account. 

Looking for easy-to-use tutor management software to take your business to the next level? Try Teachworks free for 3 weeks with no restrictions to features.

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