Software development and website design for class people
How we made the perfect system for class people
What they needed
class people, one of the leading supply teaching agencies in the South West approached 16 Interactive to add some new functionality to their systems, to refresh the now tired website design of a few years ago, and to optimise the website to increase targeted web traffic.
In engaging us, we were able to provide a complete back-to-basics critique of the website, and rediscover its objectives – who was it for and what did we want them to do on the site?
The result was that the primary function of the site should be to unite supply teachers looking for work, and schools looking for supply teachers.
How we delivered
Based on this, we took a look at some of the UK's leading recruitment sites and in the most sincere form of flattery; we copied what they were doing well (and ignored what they weren’t)! By using these ideas and our own, we came up with a winning strategy.
The site was also optimised for search engines, to attract these two target groups, for both specific and generic keywords.
We decided that the website needed two clear calls-to-action:
- Teachers register for jobs
- Schools register for staff
The homepage also needed a job search feature, as well as a summary of the latest jobs, which could be expanded at a single click into a full list.
The addition of these features has seen the bounce rate of the site decrease by around 20% for all web traffic from search engines, as well as around a 50% increase in web traffic from search engines, since the re-launch.
As you can see in the above graph (plotted over the last month), as soon as the new site goes live, the bounce rate (orange) immediately drops, and the site traffic (blue) begins to increase.
By making the site stickier, more engaging, and providing visitors with what they are looking for in a single click, we’ve improved its effectiveness as a tool for generating new clients and candidates.
Other enhancements
In addition to the aesthetics and functionality of the front-end site, we also gave the back-end system an overhaul, making it quicker and easier than ever for the team at class people to perform all of the day-to-day tasks. This included creating an availability view, where either a staff members’ computer or one connected to a plasma screen can display a live feed of available staff so that as soon as a client calls looking for a teacher, the class people team can get an instant view of who is available, when, for how long, and what their other status is – just like an arrivals/departures screen at an airport.
The founder of class people was incredibly happy with the end result and said:
Diary entries are fab, love the way ‘today’ shows up in pink, and the tabs on the bottom for the confirmation. It really does look great! Well done.
See for yourself at http://www.classpeople.co.uk or check out the screen shots below.
If you feel like your website needs a tune-up, get in touch with us today and we can make it perform better than ever.