The School App: Your One-stop-shop For All your School Information

In the past when we were looking to see browse content we use to see YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, flip kart all on our desktop browser. You must agree with the fact that the increasing availability of mobile applications of all required platforms has reduced our usage of going through a desktop browser.

Have you realized why? it’s because mobile application helps us browse the same content which is available on the website faster in the application. It offers mover convenience to us and moreover, we can have a personalized experience.

It applies the same when it comes to the school’s mobile application also. This shared unique experience seeks an important need for mobile applications for all schools to reach students, parents, and relevant communities via mobile applications. 

In this blog we will unfold what is the significance of the School mobile application also, in addition to a great user-friendly website, should be a part of your school’s communications mode. 

Adopting A “Mobile-First” Mentality

It doesn’t necessarily follow that your community is spending its working hours glued to the desktop computer version of your school’s website. In fact, evidence indicates that mobile devices, not desktops, are most likely being used by the community of your institution to access the website’s content:

More than half of the internet traffic for most schools comes from and for School mobile apps. It is possible for this percentage to be much greater in low-income or rural locations in India.

Globally, traffic to websites is primarily driven by mobile devices, with the percentage often hovering around 50% since the start of 2017, and in 2021 it’s more than that.

However, many schools remain stuck, creating digital experiences for desktop first and school mobile app second, despite evidence showing an increasing preference for mobile devices. Prioritizing the mobile experience in marketing and communications strategy is now a must rather than a choice.

Making mobile app a priority involves improving the mobile website experience for your school’s website

Does My School Need a Mobile App?

School mobile apps are a wonderful fit for most schools when considering the user habits of today’s parents. Today’s user searches for and engages with content using school mobile apps. According to user testing surveys, users spend significantly more time on the mobile than on the website.

Using school mobile apps to engage the community becomes even more crucial if your school fits any of the following descriptions:

Any portion of your community that is low-income or located in a remote area is unlikely to have access to the Internet at home.

You have a sizable network of millennial parents, who are increasingly drawn to the experiences offered by school mobile apps.

According to research, parents in the younger generations want to be kept in the loop, so receiving a weekly newsletter in their mailbox or needing to browse social media for an update can make them unhappy.

Currently, you rely largely on social media to inform your school stakeholders.

You need to want to foster a more contented and active community. According to data, brand loyalty is increased by the school mobile app, probably as a result of the speed and openness of communication.

What Makes a Great School Mobile App?

Not every school app is made similarly. Therefore, you’ll want to perform some research before deciding that your school or district is ready to implement it.

The following are essential qualities your school mobile app should have:

Integration with Your Website or Other Communications Tools

This is at the top of the list because, really, who has time to update yet another communication channel? The key to ensuring you maintain your composure while keeping your community updated is to make sure your school app interfaces with your current communications or website platform. In order for the information to appear everywhere you need it to on your website and in your school app, you should only have to enter it once.

Content Personalization

The school app on your phone remembers who you are and what your preferences are when you check in. Particularly for school, this is a significant one! Families with children attending many schools in many schools might just want to view the content related to particular schools, not all of the schools. This preferred user experience is made possible by apps that let users choose only the content they wish to see using content customization.

Push Notifications

Push notifications are enabled on more than 80% of smartphones, indicating that today’s mobile consumer appreciates getting such real-time updates. Don’t buy a school app without push notifications since they are a tried-and-true technique to keep your community involved and informed!

 iPhone and Android Compatibility 

Make sure the platforms you consider support both Android and Apple iOS because your audience is heavily represented by users of these two mobile operating systems.

App Usability

This one should be obvious! Your school mobile app’s design should have a modern aesthetic because today’s users demand it. Giving your community a user experience, they are accustomed to will significantly boost community adoption. Make sure you can completely personalize your school app with your brand colors and logos in addition to the overall design and user interface to provide a seamless cross-platform experience for users.

How to choose the Right Mobile App

The decision you make about a School mobile app will probably come down to a comparison of the price, implementation time, and feature set. We advise weighing two to three possibilities before choosing the best

school mobile app to serve as one of your school’s communication tools. List the things that are most significant to you and your stakeholders, then move on from there!

Here are the top five features according to us:

1. Integration with other communications tools or your website
2. Customized Content
3. Push Notifications, 
4. Support for Android and iPhone
5. Usability and App Design

Ensuring Acceptability: How to Encourage Your Community to Use Your Mobile App

You want to make sure that your school community actually uses the School mobile app you’ve invested in after you’ve done so.

Test the school App in Advance

The parents of today’s generation are impatient and have high standards. Therefore, if you release a school app with broken links or lacking functionality, users can be fast to uninstall it. We advise performing a soft launch for your app roughly one to two months before its actual release. Get a small group of beta testers together to find any issues and, if necessary, download the necessary software updates.

Launch iOS and Android Versions

It’s difficult to find specific statistics on the market shares of Apple’s iPhone and Android phones, but research indicates that if you just release a school app for one operating system, you may be missing out on half or more of your audience. A bigger audience will use your app if you release it for both mobile operating systems.

Introduce the App at the Start of the School Year (very important)

Present your school’s mobile app if at all possible at the same time that you introduce the other parent-teacher and school-related communication channels. By doing this, you can prevent misunderstandings and establish a baseline for the communication channels that will be used going forward.

Remember, though, that there are other times outside the start of the school year when you can introduce an app. Just keep in mind that selling the benefits & utilizing the school app is crucial if you launch at any other time throughout the school year, especially if parents are accustomed to getting their information elsewhere.

Make it a Useful Tool with Up-to-Date Content

Keep in mind that everyone prefers to utilize school mobile apps if they are straightforward, customized, and more practical. Directory, calendar, resource, and news are a few examples of the most popular website material that your audience wants & gets one-touch access to it. Make sure that this stuff is present in your school app and that it is current.

Use Push Notifications

Remember parents are busy in today’s era, therefore if your primary channels of communication are social media, your website, or email, utilizing a push notification feature in your school app in India can not only make life easier for your family but may also increase the likelihood of adoption of your school mobile app. Your folks will be very appreciative of you once they discover they won’t have to search for crucial information because they’ll be provided right to their smartphones!

The Vidyalaya mobile app makes it simple for schools and all users of all sizes to keep their app engaging & user-friendly.