That five-year-old school website is quietly costing you applicants
The calendar still says last year’s open house. The tuition page is “coming soon.” Half the teacher photos left two summers ago. Families notice before your board does.
A stale school website does not just look tired. It signals that enrollment might be hard, communication might be slow, and nobody is minding the public door.
What parents do when the site feels abandoned
They open a second tab. They text a friend about another school. They skip the call because they assume the office is as outdated as the homepage.
Reviews and word of mouth still help. They do not fix a dead “Apply” link or a contact form that emails nobody.
Relocating families often decide from the couch after a Maps search. If your site fails that five-minute test, you never meet them.
Fix paths that usually fail
- **Another DIY rebuild** — a parent volunteer or teacher starts strong, then September hits and updates stop. - **A big agency project** — long timeline, big invoice, staff still stuck updating a CMS they dislike. - **“We’ll refresh it over summer”** — summer becomes fall; the stale pages stay. - **Free builder forever** — the template works until nobody remembers the login.
A rented working site flips the job: CCCM builds and runs it. You send copy and photo updates. Parents get a Register button that works.
What we rent
For private schools and similar programs that need a public enrollment / information site:
- $149 first month, then $99/month, three-month minimum - Live in about one business day after paid checkout and complete details - One monthly tweak round included - Deposits and fees to your accounts — we never hold school money
Club-facing examples also live on https://www.getcccm.com/sports. Academy OS (ops desk) is separate and quote-after-conversation — https://www.getcccm.com/academy-os
Invented example (not a live client)
Imagine “Cedar Lane Prep” (invented brand) still showing 2022 tour dates. After a working-site rental, the enroll page lists current grades, deposit steps, and payment methods. Cedar Lane is not a real client — sample look only.
How to start
Bring school name, city, grades, current pain (stale pages, no form, wrong tuition), photos, and payment methods.
Checkout: https://www.getcccm.com/checkout Questions: hello@getcccm.com
Signals that your site is costing applicants
- Tour dates in the past - “Click here to apply” → 404 - Contact form with no autoresponse and no human reply in 48 hours - Tuition “coming soon” for more than a term - Stock photos that do not match your building
Any one of these is enough for a careful parent to keep shopping.
Monthly rhythm that works
Once a month, send CCCM: date changes, new photos, staff joins/leaves, package tweaks. That is the included tweak round. Treat it like payroll — scheduled, not optional.
Plain next step
If a working public Register site is what you need, start at https://www.getcccm.com/checkout or email hello@getcccm.com with your school or club name, city, and what you run. If you need staff-desk ops instead, use https://www.getcccm.com/academy-os and expect a conversation — not a self-serve price button.
FAQ
- Can you migrate our old content?
- We rebuild what you need for a working public site. Send the text and photos that are still true.
- Do we keep our domain?
- Talk to us about domain setup under the rental. On cancel after the minimum, you export content and contacts — not the design.
- Will staff need training?
- No CMS homework. You send updates; we apply them.
- Is this a full SIS?
- No. Public Register / info site. Ops software is Academy OS, separate.
- Wix or Squarespace vs DFY?
- Builders are fine if someone faithfully updates them. Most small schools do not have that person every month. The rental assumes we are that person.