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What are the main benefits of School Site compared to other website products?
You don't have to be a webmaster to manage School Site. It offers a Content Management System (CMS) that makes it easy to maintain your website without requiring any special expertise to do so. It also integrates with RenWeb so you can automatically post announcements and calendar items from RenWeb to School Site. Plus we offer professional design services so you can represent your school with a top-of-the-line-looking website.
We are interested in learning more about School Site but don't know how to get started. What do you suggest?
We recommend three steps:
How do we get pricing information?
A pricing sheet is available here or at schoolsite.renweb.com.
How much of the School Site monthly fee is eligible for E-Rate reimbursement?
The eligible reimbursement is $0.085 per student per month for the number of enrolled students within your school.
According to the pricing sheet, there is a pretty wide range of design options and prices. How do we know how much we will need to spend for our website?
We have designed the School Site product so we can provide schools a professionally designed website at a price they can afford. How much a school spends will depend on whether or not the school wants to use a standard template or customized design, and how much customization is requested. The best way to determine what kind of design you will want will be to have a consultative call with our design firm, Cherry+Company.
What are the differences between School Site and finalsite?
School Site and finalsite are the only two website content management systems that integrate with RenWeb. On the balance, finalsite offers higher-end features than School Site, but at a much higher price point. School Site was designed to be extremely easy to use and affordable to schools of all sizes, while providing professionally developed designs so schools present the best marketing image possible to prospective and existing families at the school.
Does School Site offer any ability for individual teachers to create their own personal school-related Web Sites/Pages?
School Site offers a powerful and user-friendly management system that teachers can use to build and maintain their own faculty web pages.
Is there a way for parents to pay for school lunches online through School Site?
RenWeb currently offers Pay Now which allows parents to make online payments via the ParentsWeb. Parents can simply view their lunch balance and make a payment via credit card or bank draft. Schools also have the ability to display their lunch calendars and parents can order and pay online for lunches within ParentsWeb. If your parents currently order through a vendor, then you can create a link to the vendor's website on your page and have parents continue to order through their current method.
Does School Site provide the web hosting as well?
School Site is a hosted solution; therefore, RenWeb will host your website along with all your other RenWeb data.
How much storage space is included?
The School Site package includes 1G of storage space. In addition, your school can purchase additional increments of 100 MB for only $5.00 per month. To make the make most of this 1G, School Site does an excellent job of compressing your website content. For example, every time you upload pictures or graphics to your web site, the system will automatically resize and optimize those graphics. Also, each time you add another page to your web site, you are simply adding another row of data to a backend database.
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Can all multimedia files be uploaded and accessed via controls in the WYSIWYG or do you have a "YouTube" type of link control?
School Site contains tools such as our Embed Audio/Video Files tool that allows you to embed your YouTube, SchoolTube, etc. files directly into your web site.
Who is Cherry+Company and what services do they provide?
Cherry+Company is the professional design company we use for School Site designs.Cherry+Company, an integrated brand marketing and communications firm, provides strategic marketing and award-winning creative services to a wide array of educational clients throughout the United States. Their team of educational and marketing experts forms strategic partnerships with educational institutions to provide innovative and comprehensive marketing, development, and student recruitment solutions. These services include brand identity, market research, strategic marketing and enrollment plans, admissions, annual fund and capital campaign marketing materials, websites, email campaigns, advertising and direct mail campaigns, interactive presentations and videos.During the past two years, Cherry+Company has won 37 admissions advertising awards from the Annual Admissions Advertising Awards competition for their outstanding work within the educational marketplace – more than any other design firm in the nation.
Can we use our own design company?
Yes. Please complete a Consultation Request Form and indicate you would like to use your own design company. Your design company will need to work with our team and provide layered .PSD files that we will incorporate into the CMS.
If the school chooses to work with School Site, who are they working with, RenWeb or Cherry+Company?
Cherry+Company will interface with the school during the design process. After the design is finalized and approved, it is forwarded to RenWeb by Cherry for implementation, training and ongoing support.
What does "registering" a domain mean?
When a "domain name" is "registered" with Internic, the national registration clearing organization, the unique mnemonic is entered into a master directory of all the millions of names on the Internet. This master directory links the domain name to the corresponding address on the computer serving your website pages.
How long does it take for Cherry+Company to create a new website?
The project varies based on when each stage of the process is completed, including input and revisions from the school. To begin the project, Cherry+Company will provide a proposal to the school which includes the proposed features and pricing. Once approved by the school and the 50% deposit is received by Cherry+Company, the school is provided with a questionnaire to fill out which gives Cherry+Company information about the school (including school colors, uniforms, input on websites the school likes, etc.). The next step is the creation of the initial concept designs (usually 2 weeks from the time the deposit and questionnaire are received). Depending on the time it takes for the school to provide their input and changes, the design process should be completed (final design to RenWeb for implementation) within 30 – 45 days.
Will School Site have template designs available for design purposes or must we choose customizations from Cherry+Company?
Cherry+Company has a template catalog from which you can choose a template for your design, and then customize the template with your school colors, pictures, logo, ect.
We like our website design, but want the convenience of the content management solution and integration with RenWeb. Can we just reuse our existing design for School Site?
Yes. Please complete a Consultation Request Form and indicate you would like to move your existing website. A member of our School Site team will contact you and provide instructions on how to provide the files and information we will need to make that happen.
We like our existing website. Can you just integrate our existing website with RenWeb?
No. We do not offer that service.
Could our website provider integrate with RenWeb?
There are web services available that your website provider could access to provide some integration with RenWeb. Please complete a Consultation Request Form if you are interested in this option. Separate one-time and ongoing integration fees will apply.
Does the Faculty Tool option within the CMS pull a faculty list from RenWeb or is the list hand-entered separately?
The faculty list is pulled from RenWeb.
Is the CMS the same regardless if your site is a fully customized design, uses a template, or uses your own existing design?
Regardless of the design options used by your school, your school will be able to use the full version of our School Site content management system.
Can a school add a link to an external site (a vendor) such as a uniform company, FACTS tuition management, or other company with which the school community does regular business?
Yes, there are several methods that your school can use to link out to external web sites. With the Links tool, you can easily create and format these external links from within the CMS. In addition, you can include an organization's logo next to the link to make it more recognizable.
How many pages can you have and can you restrict authors to specific pages?
With School Site, you can have unlimited number of pages within your site. You can restrict permissions in any way that you so desire. You can give a staff member access to work on the entire site or a single page or anywhere in between.
We have an existing website that we would want to use, however, we will be changing our banner in the future. Would l go with option 1 or 2?
It may make sense to move your existing site as is to the School Site platform. If you decide to change your banner, this can be accomplished at a later date.
What will RenWeb need to make our current website work in School Site?
RenWeb will require the following:
What is the "domain name" system?
The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a telephone number - which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its "IP Address" (IP stands for "Internet Protocol"). IP Addresses are hard to remember. The DNS makes using the Internet easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the arcane IP Address. So instead of typing 207.151.159.3, you can type www.internic.net. It is a "mnemonic" device that makes addresses easier to remember.
Do you have to have a registered domain name for School Site (www.yourschool.com) ?
Yes, the School Site server requires a domain name to operate properly.
How do we register for a domain name if our school does not have one or we want to use a different one?
All main domains are registered with Internic, the not-for-profit organization established to license and regulate domain names. Domain names are registered through third-party companies called registrars that provide name registration with Internic, along with value-added services for licensees. There are many licensed and certified registrars to choose from, though www.godaddy.com is the largest registrar in the world. Prices vary from just under $10 up to $100 per domain name. If the domain name is already licensed (owned) by another party, that party may sell the domain name for whatever price they choose.
If we already have a domain name, how do we know if our school owns and controls it?
A query of the http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp database reveals much information about ownership and control. For the most part, domain information is public information to ensure easy contact in case of emergency. This form will produce as much information about a domain and its zone records as the owner will allow. Some information may be confidential so this form may not produce all information needed to see ownership of the domain name. If you cannot determine ownership and control of the domain name using this page, you will need a professional to use special services to find the information.