Your website is always open
Even when you're teaching, it's talking to potential students. The question is: what is it saying?
A bad website doesn't just fail to attract new students - it actively repels them. Here are the signs yours might be working against you.
1. It doesn't work on mobile
Over 60% of website visits now come from mobile phones. If parents have to pinch-and-zoom to read your class timetable, they'll go elsewhere. Google also penalises mobile-unfriendly sites in search rankings.
2. It takes more than 3 seconds to load
Attention spans are short. Research consistently shows that a 1-second delay in page load time reduces conversions by 7%. On a budget web host with unoptimised images, load times of 6–10 seconds are common.
3. There's no clear "next step"
A visitor lands on your homepage. Now what? If there's no obvious, prominent call to action - "Book a Free Trial" or "See Our Classes" - most people will simply leave.
4. The class timetable is a PDF
A PDF timetable is hard to read on mobile, impossible for Google to index, and usually out of date. Your classes should be listed as proper web pages.
5. There are no photos of real students
Stock photos of dancers are unconvincing. Parents want to see your actual studio, your actual students, your actual teachers. Authenticity builds trust.
6. It was last updated years ago
"Term dates 2021/22" in the footer. A news section with posts from 2019. These tell a parent that this business might not even be open any more.
7. Contact details are hard to find
If a parent has to hunt for your phone number or email address, they won't. Put your contact information in the header and footer of every page.
8. There are no reviews or testimonials
Parents trust other parents. If your site has no social proof - no quotes from happy families, no Google review widget - you're asking them to take a bigger leap of faith than necessary.
9. It doesn't rank for your own name
Type your school's full name into Google. If you don't appear in the first result, you have a serious problem. This can happen with very poorly built sites or those penalised for low quality.
10. You're embarrassed to share it
This is the simplest test. When someone asks for your website, do you feel proud to share it, or do you find yourself saying "it's a bit out of date"? Your gut feeling is telling you something important.
What to do next
If three or more of these apply to you, your website is probably holding your business back. A proper dance school website - fast, mobile-friendly, with clear calls to action and real photos - pays for itself many times over in new enrolments.