At first glance, the staff directory seems like a simple page—names, titles, maybe a few photos. But for prospective families, it’s one of the most telling pages on your entire site.
Done well, it signals professionalism, warmth, and clarity. Done poorly, it looks like an afterthought—or worse, a red flag.
Here are the biggest mistakes we see on school website staff directory pages—and how to fix them.
1. Missing Photos or Inconsistent Headshots
Some bios have photos. Some don’t. Some are casual, some are formal. The inconsistency makes the page feel messy and uncurated.
You don’t need a professional photoshoot for every team member, but you do need visual consistency. Clean backgrounds, similar cropping, and a unified tone go a long way in building trust. Your iPhone has really good quality with portrait mode. However, a professional photographer can really take it up a notch. Let us know if you’d like a referral to a trusted one.
2. No Clear Organizational Structure
Is it alphabetical? By department? By grade level? Many directories lack any discernible order—which makes it frustrating to navigate.
Parents shouldn’t have to hunt to figure out who teaches second grade or who leads the rhetoric school. Use clear headings or filters to group staff by role.
This kind of user-first design is the same principle we apply in parent portal layouts and elsewhere.
3. Too Much or Too Little Info
Some bios are two sentences. Others are 300 words of academic history. Some have contact info. Others don’t. This inconsistency makes it hard for families to scan and engage.
We recommend a tight, consistent format:
- Name and role
- Short paragraph (2–4 sentences) with personal + professional info
- Email or contact link
And if you include credentials, keep them readable—no alphabet soup.
4. Forgetting That This Page Reflects Your Mission
Your staff directory isn’t just a contact list. It’s a representation of your community and leadership. If your school emphasizes mentorship, virtue formation, or servant leadership—this is a chance to show it.
We break down how to connect your mission to your design choices in this post.
5. Making It an Afterthought in the Design Process
When redesigning a site, many schools leave the staff directory untouched. But this is often one of the most-visited internal pages—by current families, too.
It deserves just as much attention as your homepage, calendar, and parent portal.
Want Help Cleaning Up Your Faculty Page?
If your current staff directory is outdated, inconsistent, or hard to use, we’ll review it and send back practical suggestions for clarity, structure, and tone.
Request a free mini audit of your faculty or staff page—we’ll help you make it a strength, not a liability.
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