School websites often include pages and functionality that you rarely find in other industries. However, there are some common web pages which you should see on education sector websites as well, such as staff profiles. Here, we answer the most common questions about staff profiles for a website, including specific advantages for schools, colleges and universities. 

What are staff profiles?

Staff profiles can be added to websites across different industries and are especially beneficial on websites within the education sector. We’ll explain why that is shortly. 

A staff profile usually comprises of an image of the staff member and some text to tell the reader about them. The text used for the staff profile can be a block of text or bullet points and the text itself can either tell the reader about the individual as a professional or be more personal – or be a mix of both. In the case of schools, colleges and universities, it’s usually better to provide professional information, with a short insight into the staff member’s hobbies or personal interests. 

What makes a good staff profile?

The best staff profiles include a professional photo of each staff member and this high-quality imagery should be consistent across all staff photos on your website. It comes across as messy and unprofessional to have photos of different sizes and quality for each staff member, which can happen if you allow staff members to take and submit their own photos. Moreover, the photos themselves should ideally be headshots taken by a professional photographer. 

Your staff profiles should be updated frequently to reflect changes to your staff, including new staff and offboarded staff. This is something that many businesses fail to keep on top of. 

Why schools should be adding staff profiles

There are many reasons why every organisation should showcase its staff members on their website. Showing the genuine faces of your staff offers assurance to website visitors. There is psychological proof that seeing the faces of the people you interact with builds trust and rapport. Moreover, telling readers about staff’s experience and accreditations is a more direct way of highlighting skills and building confidence among parents and students. 

Another reason to include staff profiles is recognition. Students, and especially parents, may need to speak with staff members when they visit the school. By seeing their faces on staff profile pages, it’s easier for them to confidently identify staff and start conversations.

A third reason to include staff profile sections or a staff profile page is Google. Search engines recognise the value of staff profiles, especially those with photographs. This can help the website improve its ranking on relevant search result pages. Updating these profiles regularly can contribute to creating a more authoritative site overall.

Where do staff profiles go on a website?

Staff profiles can be placed as a section on your website’s “About” page. Alternatively, your web developer can create a specific staff profile page, which may be the better option if you have a lot of staff and don’t want the About page to become overly long. There’s no blanket right or wrong answer. Each school, college or university should decide the composition and placement of staff profiles based on their circumstances and our team can always advise. 

Let us create your staff profiles

With a team of in-house creatives including web developers, professional photographers and copywriters, we can create high-quality staff profiles and add them to your education industry website.