Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Website Help Please
yodaone 05:24 PM 02-28-2016
I created a website and it's been live for about 6 weeks now. I've had a few serious calls/e-mails but only one client so far. I originally did the tiered payment based on pick-up, but recently took that off because I know my prices are higher than other daycares in the area. Most daycares around me charge about $175/week. With the tiered rate based on pick-up time I had my top price at $230. I recently just changed my cost to a flat $190/week. Would anyone be willing to look over my site? Any suggestions for getting the word out there I would greatly appreciate any feedback! Here is my website: www.lilsproutsdaycare.com
MsLisa 05:31 PM 02-28-2016
I really like your website! It has a very nice flow and feel to it.
Only thing I could think of was to get rid of that main slide show of pictures on top. The ones that slide. Replace the girl in the tunnel with that adorable little boy smiling. You have plenty of photos otherwise. Well done.
Only thing I could think of was to get rid of that main slide show of pictures on top. The ones that slide. Replace the girl in the tunnel with that adorable little boy smiling. You have plenty of photos otherwise. Well done.
yodaone 05:45 PM 02-28-2016
Thank you MsLisa!
I was wondering about the slide show as well... I'll just take that off
I was wondering about the slide show as well... I'll just take that off
CalCare 06:13 PM 02-28-2016
The slide show worked well on my cell phone. I liked it 
The rest looks good too. Usually on childcare websites and on cl ads I always see so many spelling errors and misuse of quotation marks it drives me 'crazy' lol. But, your website didn't have any issues that I noticed. I am no English language expert, but it looks terrible on websites and ads. Your website looks great. 
The rest looks good too. Usually on childcare websites and on cl ads I always see so many spelling errors and misuse of quotation marks it drives me 'crazy' lol. But, your website didn't have any issues that I noticed. I am no English language expert, but it looks terrible on websites and ads. Your website looks great.
childcaremom 06:35 PM 02-28-2016
Originally Posted by heatherann:
I created a website and it's been live for about 6 weeks now. I've had a few serious calls/e-mails but only one client so far. I originally did the tiered payment based on pick-up, but recently took that off because I know my prices are higher than other daycares in the area. Most daycares around me charge about $175/week. With the tiered rate based on pick-up time I had my top price at $230. I recently just changed my cost to a flat $190/week. Would anyone be willing to look over my site? Any suggestions for getting the word out there I would greatly appreciate any feedback! Here is my website: www.lilsproutsdaycare.com
I like it!I created a website and it's been live for about 6 weeks now. I've had a few serious calls/e-mails but only one client so far. I originally did the tiered payment based on pick-up, but recently took that off because I know my prices are higher than other daycares in the area. Most daycares around me charge about $175/week. With the tiered rate based on pick-up time I had my top price at $230. I recently just changed my cost to a flat $190/week. Would anyone be willing to look over my site? Any suggestions for getting the word out there I would greatly appreciate any feedback! Here is my website: www.lilsproutsdaycare.com
Re tuition. I would expect to pay higher for what you are offering. I don't know what the others are charging but I think that if you are charging more that would be ok, especially for the price difference in organics.
jenboo 06:36 PM 02-28-2016
I'm in love 
It looks fabulous.
I'm iffy on the slide show as well.
It looks fabulous.
I'm iffy on the slide show as well.
spedmommy4 08:19 PM 02-28-2016
The website looks amazing! Are you using a program to track your hits? I embedded Google Analytics into my website. (free) Google tells me how many visitors my site had, where they are from, and how long they stayed. Google makes it really easy to copy and past the code into your website.
With my own website, I registered the URL with everyone I could think of. Lots of great recommendations in this article. https://www.daycare.com/news/adverti...r-daycare.html
I linked my website to my Craigslist ads, my Yelp page, my Pinterest page, my Google page, my yahoo page, my Angie's list page, etc. My business comes up in the top 10 now when you search preschool or childcare for my area but, I found it does take a little bit of work to get your website noticed on the internet.
This is my website, if you want to take a look www.milestonesearlychildhood.com
With my own website, I registered the URL with everyone I could think of. Lots of great recommendations in this article. https://www.daycare.com/news/adverti...r-daycare.html
I linked my website to my Craigslist ads, my Yelp page, my Pinterest page, my Google page, my yahoo page, my Angie's list page, etc. My business comes up in the top 10 now when you search preschool or childcare for my area but, I found it does take a little bit of work to get your website noticed on the internet.
This is my website, if you want to take a look www.milestonesearlychildhood.com
lovemydaycare0912 04:40 AM 02-29-2016
I loved it. Nice and clean.
Unregistered 06:47 AM 02-29-2016
Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
The website looks amazing! Are you using a program to track your hits? I embedded Google Analytics into my website. (free) Google tells me how many visitors my site had, where they are from, and how long they stayed. Google makes it really easy to copy and past the code into your website.
With my own website, I registered the URL with everyone I could think of. Lots of great recommendations in this article. https://www.daycare.com/news/adverti...r-daycare.html
I linked my website to my Craigslist ads, my Yelp page, my Pinterest page, my Google page, my yahoo page, my Angie's list page, etc. My business comes up in the top 10 now when you search preschool or childcare for my area but, I found it does take a little bit of work to get your website noticed on the internet.
This is my website, if you want to take a look www.milestonesearlychildhood.com
I like your site! Did Blackcat write your handbook? It looks like a copied and pasted version of hers?The website looks amazing! Are you using a program to track your hits? I embedded Google Analytics into my website. (free) Google tells me how many visitors my site had, where they are from, and how long they stayed. Google makes it really easy to copy and past the code into your website.
With my own website, I registered the URL with everyone I could think of. Lots of great recommendations in this article. https://www.daycare.com/news/adverti...r-daycare.html
I linked my website to my Craigslist ads, my Yelp page, my Pinterest page, my Google page, my yahoo page, my Angie's list page, etc. My business comes up in the top 10 now when you search preschool or childcare for my area but, I found it does take a little bit of work to get your website noticed on the internet.
This is my website, if you want to take a look www.milestonesearlychildhood.com
spedmommy4 07:04 AM 02-29-2016
No and sort of. I had my own that was about 16 pages long. I used all my original policies and added some modified versions of her more stringent policies. (Like health and toileting) I was having a TON of problems with parents way back when I started and ended up chatting with her over the forum about handbooks. But . . . .I loved her format so much- with the colored highlighting of important policies - I ended up using a program to recreate that with mine. It has helped a lot to have the important policies in bold colored print.
thrivingchildcarecom 09:56 AM 02-29-2016
Hi Lisa,
I actually love your site! One thing, and I know some will disagree with me but I never put my rates on the website or on any of my ads and not even on phone inquires either. Some providers will disagree because they don't want to be bothered with clients who cannot afford their rates. But in the past whenever I would give out rates to perspective parents they never would even come in. In my area their are so many providers I know that I need to stand out, not based on my price but rather based on my business as a whole. When parents do inquire as to rates, I give them the average hourly rate, but tell them when they come in I will provide them with a tuition worksheet that breaks down the tuition. I also notice that NONE of the local preschools list their rates on their websites either.
I actually love your site! One thing, and I know some will disagree with me but I never put my rates on the website or on any of my ads and not even on phone inquires either. Some providers will disagree because they don't want to be bothered with clients who cannot afford their rates. But in the past whenever I would give out rates to perspective parents they never would even come in. In my area their are so many providers I know that I need to stand out, not based on my price but rather based on my business as a whole. When parents do inquire as to rates, I give them the average hourly rate, but tell them when they come in I will provide them with a tuition worksheet that breaks down the tuition. I also notice that NONE of the local preschools list their rates on their websites either.
daycarediva 10:02 AM 02-29-2016
First page- I would remove the slideshow (it made the page jumpy on my desktop)
I would change bi-yearly evaluations to bi-annual
otherwise, I love it!
I would change bi-yearly evaluations to bi-annual
otherwise, I love it!
Blackcat31 10:04 AM 02-29-2016
Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
No and sort of. I had my own that was about 16 pages long. I used all my original policies and added some modified versions of her more stringent policies. (Like health and toileting) I was having a TON of problems with parents way back when I started and ended up chatting with her over the forum about handbooks. But . . . .I loved her format so much- with the colored highlighting of important policies - I ended up using a program to recreate that with mine. It has helped a lot to have the important policies in bold colored print.
No and sort of. I had my own that was about 16 pages long. I used all my original policies and added some modified versions of her more stringent policies. (Like health and toileting) I was having a TON of problems with parents way back when I started and ended up chatting with her over the forum about handbooks. But . . . .I loved her format so much- with the colored highlighting of important policies - I ended up using a program to recreate that with mine. It has helped a lot to have the important policies in bold colored print.
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
I like your site! Did Blackcat write your handbook? It looks like a copied and pasted version of hers?
I like your site! Did Blackcat write your handbook? It looks like a copied and pasted version of hers?
Spedmommy and I collaborated on those things that were similar between our programs/beliefs etc for but other than format, Spedmommy's handbook is her own.
yodaone 10:20 AM 02-29-2016
Originally Posted by thrivingchildcarecom:
Hi Lisa,
I actually love your site! One thing, and I know some will disagree with me but I never put my rates on the website or on any of my ads and not even on phone inquires either. Some providers will disagree because they don't want to be bothered with clients who cannot afford their rates. But in the past whenever I would give out rates to perspective parents they never would even come in. In my area their are so many providers I know that I need to stand out, not based on my price but rather based on my business as a whole. When parents do inquire as to rates, I give them the average hourly rate, but tell them when they come in I will provide them with a tuition worksheet that breaks down the tuition. I also notice that NONE of the local preschools list their rates on their websites either.
Thank you! What is on your tuition worksheet... I'm curious :-)Hi Lisa,
I actually love your site! One thing, and I know some will disagree with me but I never put my rates on the website or on any of my ads and not even on phone inquires either. Some providers will disagree because they don't want to be bothered with clients who cannot afford their rates. But in the past whenever I would give out rates to perspective parents they never would even come in. In my area their are so many providers I know that I need to stand out, not based on my price but rather based on my business as a whole. When parents do inquire as to rates, I give them the average hourly rate, but tell them when they come in I will provide them with a tuition worksheet that breaks down the tuition. I also notice that NONE of the local preschools list their rates on their websites either.
yodaone 10:25 AM 02-29-2016
Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
The website looks amazing! Are you using a program to track your hits? I embedded Google Analytics into my website. (free) Google tells me how many visitors my site had, where they are from, and how long they stayed. Google makes it really easy to copy and past the code into your website.
With my own website, I registered the URL with everyone I could think of. Lots of great recommendations in this article. https://www.daycare.com/news/adverti...r-daycare.html
I linked my website to my Craigslist ads, my Yelp page, my Pinterest page, my Google page, my yahoo page, my Angie's list page, etc. My business comes up in the top 10 now when you search preschool or childcare for my area but, I found it does take a little bit of work to get your website noticed on the internet.
This is my website, if you want to take a look www.milestonesearlychildhood.com
Yes, I do have a tracker on my site and it does show me great information... I have been linking my site whenever I post to CL or on my Facebook page. How do you know if your site is actually registered with say google, yahoo, etc. This may sound crazy, (I'm not very good with the tech stuff) I think my website is registered... I'm just not sure?The website looks amazing! Are you using a program to track your hits? I embedded Google Analytics into my website. (free) Google tells me how many visitors my site had, where they are from, and how long they stayed. Google makes it really easy to copy and past the code into your website.
With my own website, I registered the URL with everyone I could think of. Lots of great recommendations in this article. https://www.daycare.com/news/adverti...r-daycare.html
I linked my website to my Craigslist ads, my Yelp page, my Pinterest page, my Google page, my yahoo page, my Angie's list page, etc. My business comes up in the top 10 now when you search preschool or childcare for my area but, I found it does take a little bit of work to get your website noticed on the internet.
This is my website, if you want to take a look www.milestonesearlychildhood.com
spedmommy4 12:21 PM 02-29-2016
Originally Posted by heatherann:
Yes, I do have a tracker on my site and it does show me great information... I have been linking my site whenever I post to CL or on my Facebook page. How do you know if your site is actually registered with say google, yahoo, etc. This may sound crazy, (I'm not very good with the tech stuff) I think my website is registered... I'm just not sure?
There is a learning curve to these things. Yes, I do have a tracker on my site and it does show me great information... I have been linking my site whenever I post to CL or on my Facebook page. How do you know if your site is actually registered with say google, yahoo, etc. This may sound crazy, (I'm not very good with the tech stuff) I think my website is registered... I'm just not sure?
I use godaddy.com and I used their paid service to register my domain name with some search engines. For others, like google, I did it myself. To register with Google, I ran a search, "register my website URL."
This popped up: https://www.google.com/webmasters/to...ntinue=/&pli=1
I entered my website name and that was it. I did the same thing for yahoo and bing. I also created a Google business page for my childcare so that people could use Google maps to find me. The internet has been really helpful in keeping me full.
Controlled Chaos 12:38 PM 02-29-2016
Its beautiful, makes me want to update mine
yodaone 12:48 PM 02-29-2016
Originally Posted by spedmommy4:
There is a learning curve to these things. I use godaddy.com and I used their paid service to register my domain name with some search engines. For others, like google, I did it myself.
To register with Google, I ran a search, "register my website URL."
This popped up: https://www.google.com/webmasters/to...ntinue=/&pli=1
I entered my website name and that was it. I did the same thing for yahoo and bing. I also created a Google business page for my childcare so that people could use Google maps to find me. The internet has been really helpful in keeping me full.
Perfect! Thank you so much! I'll be working on this next There is a learning curve to these things.
I use godaddy.com and I used their paid service to register my domain name with some search engines. For others, like google, I did it myself. To register with Google, I ran a search, "register my website URL."
This popped up: https://www.google.com/webmasters/to...ntinue=/&pli=1
I entered my website name and that was it. I did the same thing for yahoo and bing. I also created a Google business page for my childcare so that people could use Google maps to find me. The internet has been really helpful in keeping me full.
AmyKidsCo 08:32 PM 03-02-2016
I think it's really cute, and the slide show didn't mess up anything for me.
My only suggestion is to keep the background the same on all pages. The first time I went from the Home page (chalk background) to another page (wood background) I thought maybe I'd accidentally gone to another website so I went back to double-check.
My only suggestion is to keep the background the same on all pages. The first time I went from the Home page (chalk background) to another page (wood background) I thought maybe I'd accidentally gone to another website so I went back to double-check.
kendallina 03:09 PM 03-03-2016
Looks great, looks professional and home-y.
I personally would suggest putting your contact info on the first page. Also, where it says, "Space is Limited" I would add "Now Enrolling".
Do you have fliers also? You could put those in grocery stores, etc. Especially if you have a co-op or organic-oriented stores. Are you allowed to transport? Can you take your current dck to library store times or other organized play-date type things in town? For me, I get almost all of my families from word of mouth and only about 1 out of 6 come from my website.
I personally would suggest putting your contact info on the first page. Also, where it says, "Space is Limited" I would add "Now Enrolling".
Do you have fliers also? You could put those in grocery stores, etc. Especially if you have a co-op or organic-oriented stores. Are you allowed to transport? Can you take your current dck to library store times or other organized play-date type things in town? For me, I get almost all of my families from word of mouth and only about 1 out of 6 come from my website.
kendallina 03:11 PM 03-03-2016
Just noticed-On your curriculum page, "independent" is spelled wrong. Sorry to be nitpicky.
ETA: I got my masters at Wayne State too! Mine's in Human Development.
ETA: I got my masters at Wayne State too! Mine's in Human Development.
yodaone 07:04 PM 03-03-2016
Originally Posted by AmyKidsCo:
I think it's really cute, and the slide show didn't mess up anything for me.
My only suggestion is to keep the background the same on all pages. The first time I went from the Home page (chalk background) to another page (wood background) I thought maybe I'd accidentally gone to another website so I went back to double-check.
Thank you! This makes sense. Now I have to decide between the two. I think it's really cute, and the slide show didn't mess up anything for me.
My only suggestion is to keep the background the same on all pages. The first time I went from the Home page (chalk background) to another page (wood background) I thought maybe I'd accidentally gone to another website so I went back to double-check.
yodaone 07:08 PM 03-03-2016
Originally Posted by kendallina:
Looks great, looks professional and home-y.
I personally would suggest putting your contact info on the first page. Also, where it says, "Space is Limited" I would add "Now Enrolling".
Do you have fliers also? You could put those in grocery stores, etc. Especially if you have a co-op or organic-oriented stores. Are you allowed to transport? Can you take your current dck to library store times or other organized play-date type things in town? For me, I get almost all of my families from word of mouth and only about 1 out of 6 come from my website.
Thank you! Now enrolling sounds much better! I have made fliers and will be posting those around town this week. I don't plan to transport, I don't have a large enough vehicle. Right now since I'm just starting out, I don't really have many people, other than family and friends, to spread the word about my program.Looks great, looks professional and home-y.
I personally would suggest putting your contact info on the first page. Also, where it says, "Space is Limited" I would add "Now Enrolling".
Do you have fliers also? You could put those in grocery stores, etc. Especially if you have a co-op or organic-oriented stores. Are you allowed to transport? Can you take your current dck to library store times or other organized play-date type things in town? For me, I get almost all of my families from word of mouth and only about 1 out of 6 come from my website.
yodaone 07:10 PM 03-03-2016
Originally Posted by kendallina:
Just noticed-On your curriculum page, "independent" is spelled wrong. Sorry to be nitpicky.
ETA: I got my masters at Wayne State too! Mine's in Human Development.
Thank you so so much for catching that spelling error. I've looked at my website so much, along with my hubby and SIL, none of us caught it! So thank you! I appreciate it! Just noticed-On your curriculum page, "independent" is spelled wrong. Sorry to be nitpicky.
ETA: I got my masters at Wayne State too! Mine's in Human Development.