Introduction
For Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), a website isn’t just a collection of individual school pages; it’s an opportunity to showcase the collective strength of all the schools under your trust and present a unified vision to the public. A cohesive, well-designed website plays an important role in uniting your schools, aligning them with your MAT’s values, and creating a consistent experience for parents, students, staff, and each of your school communities.
Creating a MAT website that unites every school in your trust is no small task. Fortunately, our team of expert education website designers has strategically built and created hundreds of MAT websites, so we know exactly how to strike the right balance.
With years of experience and proven methods, we’ve mastered the art of giving each school its own unique voice and identity while bringing everything together on a unified trust website.
In this blog, we share 6 top tips to help MAT leaders create a cohesive main website that makes a great first impression and showcases your trust and all the schools within it in its best light.
Why is building a unified online presence for your MAT important?
A strong, unified trust website does more than align your branding—it brings your whole community together under a shared vision. As the saying goes, “stronger together,” and a cohesive online presence reinforces that message. Connecting your schools through a consistent website shows that your MAT is united in purpose and goals, creating a powerful, collective identity that resonates with students, staff, families, and prospective schools looking to join your MAT.
7 simple tips to create a unified trust website
1. Create a dedicated page for your schools
Each school within your trust should be featured on the same page on your trust website, for example, on an ‘Our Schools’ page, or via a ‘Family of Schools’ bar within the top navigation of the website. 
While each school has its own unique identity, showcasing them together on one page and incorporating the same logo or colour scheme can highlight that they all belong to the same trust, creating a sense of unity and connection.
2. Create a centralised ‘MAT Hub’
Your trust website should act as a central hub, offering visitors an overview of the trust and its mission.
Include:
- A summary of the trust’s vision, values, and goals.
- Information about leadership, governance, and key initiatives.
- A directory of all schools in the trust, with links to their individual pages and also links to their actual websites.
- Updates on trust-wide events, programs, and news.
A centralised hub ensures visitors to any school’s page can easily access information about the broader trust. 
3. Design for easy navigation between schools
Make it simple for users to move between individual school pages while maintaining the sense of being part of a larger trust.
- Dropdown menus or quick links: Add intuitive links to navigate between schools within the trust.
- Interactive maps or directories: Include tools that allow visitors to search for schools by location or other criteria.
This easy navigation helps show how each school works in synergy with the trust. 
4. Promote collaboration and communication
Use your website to highlight how your schools work together as one unified trust:
- Shared professional development: Promote trust-wide training opportunities for staff.
- Trust-wide events and achievements: Feature activities like charity events, sports days, or art exhibitions to celebrate collective success.
- Leadership and governance initiatives: Highlight shared resources, policies, and mentoring programs that strengthen collaboration across the trust.
- Share news from the school websites directly onto the trust website to celebrate achievements and events.
These efforts reinforce the idea that every school is part of a larger, unified organisation. 
5. Prioritise usability and accessibility
A cohesive website isn’t just about design—it must also be functional and user-friendly.
- Mobile optimisation: Ensure your website is responsive and looks great on all devices.
- Clear navigation: Use intuitive menus and search tools to make information easy to find.
- Accessibility standards: Comply with the latest WCAG 2.2 AA standards, which came into effect in October 2024, to ensure inclusivity. Why not take advantage of our compliance audit service to stay aligned with these guidelines.
A website that’s easy to use reflects your trust’s professionalism and commitment to all stakeholders. 
6. Regular updates and maintenance
Keep your MAT website fresh by regularly updating information.
- Add new content: Upload photos, videos, and updates on events or new schools to keep the website fresh.
- Update visuals: Refresh images and messaging to keep the website relevant and engaging.
A well-maintained website demonstrates that your trust is active, engaged, and committed to providing a great user experience. 
7. Use a “bespoke and clone” website approach
Make managing your trust’s websites easier with a “bespoke and clone” model. This means creating a main website design that’s tailored to your trust’s brand and values, then reusing it as a template for each school’s website.
Here’s why it works:
- Keep things consistent: All your school websites will look like part of the same family.
- Saves time: Once the template is ready, setting up each school’s site is much quicker.
- Cuts costs: You won’t need to pay for every school’s website to be built from scratch.
This approach lets each school keep its own personality while making sure everything ties back to your trust’s overall brand. Here are some great examples of our “bespoke and clone” approach: 
MAT leaders, let’s get started!
Whether you're starting from scratch with a new website, tackling a specific challenge, or just looking for a brand refresh to create unity, we’re here to support you.
We’ll make sure your MAT website stands out for all the right reasons. Not only will it help your MAT shine, but it will also elevate all the schools within your trust.
Contact our MAT website team, and let’s create a MAT website that brings all your schools together and helps them collectively shine online.
Or download our free Headteachers Guide to School Websites to unlock tips and insights for creating effective and engaging school websites across all the schools in your trust.
