Vibe Code a School Website
Free vibe coding prompt to build a WordPress school site. Programs, faculty, admissions, parent portal, events, and EducationalOrganization schema. Full institutional architecture.
Plan and produce a complete WordPress site architecture for a school -
K-12 or higher-ed, with programs, faculty, admissions, and parent
portal SSO. Output should be production-ready.
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BUSINESS DETAILS
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- School name: [SCHOOL NAME]
- Type: [K-12 / Higher-ed / Independent / Charter / Public]
- City + setting: [CITY], [URBAN / SUBURBAN / RURAL]
- Grade levels or programs: [LIST]
- Enrollment: [N] students
- Faculty: [N] educators
- Mission: [ONE SENTENCE]
- Existing SIS / portal: [PowerSchool / Veracross / Blackbaud / etc.]
- Goal: increase admissions inquiries, support current families,
showcase outcomes
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BRAND
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- Brand colors: deep institutional color (navy / forest / wine) + warm
cream + gold accent. Override if user provides hex values; AA-contrast
for body.
- Type: high-contrast serif for headings (Source Serif Pro, Lora) +
Inter for body.
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PLUGIN STACK (WP-CLI)
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wp plugin install --activate
gravityforms
the-events-calendar
wordpress-seo
advanced-custom-fields
wp-rocket
shortpixel-image-optimiser
tinymce-advanced
wpml-multilingual-cms
- Forms: Gravity Forms (best for complex admissions applications)
- SIS SSO: integrate with existing system (PowerSchool, Veracross via
custom OAuth)
- Multilingual: WPML if international families
- Optional: BuddyBoss for parent community
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DATA MODEL
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- CPTs:
- `program`, fields: grade_levels, requirements, courses (repeater),
faculty (relationship), photo_gallery, application_deadline
- `faculty_member`, fields: name, role, department (taxonomy),
courses_taught, degrees (repeater), bio, photo, email,
office_hours
- `news_event`, for school news/announcements
- `athletic_team`, fields: sport, season, coach, schedule_pdf, photo
- `alumni_story`, fields: name, graduation_year, current_role,
institution_attended_after, photo, story
- Taxonomies:
- `department`
- `grade_level` (Pre-K through 12 OR undergraduate/graduate)
- `discipline` (Math / English / Arts / Athletics / Languages)
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SITE MAP
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1. Home
2. About (mission, history, leadership, board)
3. Academics (department pages + grade-level pages)
4. Admissions (process, dates, requirements, financial aid)
5. Tuition & Aid
6. Student Life
7. Athletics (teams, schedules, news)
8. Arts (programs, performances, gallery)
9. Faculty & Staff (filterable directory)
10. News & Events
11. Calendar (master school calendar)
12. Parent Portal (SSO link to SIS)
13. Alumni (giving, events, stories)
14. Give (capital campaigns, annual fund)
15. Contact
16. Privacy + FERPA notices
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HOMEPAGE, BLOCK MARKUP
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1. Hero video or photo (campus life, students engaged) with mission
tagline + Apply / Visit CTAs
2. Stats strip (4 numbers): student-teacher ratio, AP courses, alumni
colleges, years founded
3. Program highlights (3-4 featured programs as cards)
4. News & Events (3 latest + "View all" link)
5. Why choose us (3-4 distinct value propositions)
6. Featured student / faculty / alumni story (rotating quote with
photo + name)
7. Quick links bar (calendar, lunch menu, parent portal, library catalog,
email faculty)
8. Newsletter / Inquiry form
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ADMISSIONS PAGE
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- Why apply (3-4 reasons)
- Application timeline (visual: Open House → Applications open →
Deadline → Decisions → Enrollment confirmation)
- Requirements per grade level
- Application form (Gravity Forms multi-step):
Step 1: Student info (name, DOB, current grade)
Step 2: Parent/guardian contact
Step 3: Educational history + recommendations
Step 4: Essay (textarea, for older grades)
Step 5: Optional financial aid request
- Open House schedule + RSVP
- Visit scheduler (Calendly embed or custom)
- Virtual tour video
- International student info (separate process)
- Financial aid info (don't bury it)
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TUITION & AID
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- Tuition tables by grade
- Scholarships available (list with criteria + apply links)
- Payment plans
- Aid application steps
- "We make this work for families" copy
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FACULTY DIRECTORY
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- Filterable by department + discipline
- Card grid: photo, name, role, department chip
- Profile pages: bio, degrees, courses taught, office hours, contact
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NEWS & CALENDAR
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- Press releases + blog
- The Events Calendar for school year
- Snow day / closure banner block (sticky alert when activated)
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PARENT / STUDENT PORTAL
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- SSO link to existing SIS (PowerSchool / Veracross / Blackbaud)
- Custom dashboard inside WP for: lunch menu, calendar sync,
announcements, document downloads
- Mobile-friendly (parents check on phones)
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ACCESSIBILITY & COMPLIANCE
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- WCAG 2.1 AA, required for schools (legal in many jurisdictions)
- FERPA / Privacy notice
- Title IX compliance page (US)
- Non-discrimination statement in footer
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MULTILINGUAL (if international)
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- WPML for admissions + parent-facing pages
- Common languages: Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, Arabic, French
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SEO & SCHEMA
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- Schema: EducationalOrganization (with foundingDate, alumni,
numberOfStudents), Person (faculty), Event, Article
- Local SEO: "[City] schools" + "best [type] school in [region]"
- Google Business Profile for the school
ADDITIONAL SEO REQUIREMENTS (implement all of these):
On-Page SEO for Every Page:
- Yoast/RankMath meta title template: "[Page Title] | [Site Name]" (under 60 chars)
- Meta description per page: 150-160 chars, include primary keyword + CTA
- Exactly ONE H1 per page — use the real, human headline; keep keywords in the title and meta, not the visible H1
- Logical H2 > H3 heading hierarchy, never skip a level
- Headings should include secondary keywords naturally,
keep the section's real, human label (keywords in title and meta, not stuffed headings)
- Every image must have a descriptive alt attribute with keywords
- Internal links between related content using descriptive anchor text
Structured Data (JSON-LD via Yoast/RankMath + manual where needed):
- Primary schema types: EducationalOrganization, School
- BreadcrumbList on all pages
- FAQPage schema on any page with an FAQ/accordion section
- Article schema on all blog posts (auto via Yoast)
- Validate schema with Google Rich Results Test before launch
Open Graph & Social Sharing:
- og:title, og:description, og:image, og:url on every page
- twitter:card=summary_large_image on every page
- Default OG image set in Yoast; per-page overrides for key landing pages
- OG images should be 1200x630px, branded, with clear text
Content SEO:
- Write real, useful body copy for every page (not just headings and CTAs).
Every major section needs at least 2-3 sentences of descriptive text
that search engines can index.
- Blog content strategy: 10 seed articles targeting long-tail keywords
related to "school / educational institution". List the titles and target keywords.
- Use the primary keyword once or twice where it reads naturally; keep the rest in titles and meta, never stuffed.
- Every CTA should use descriptive anchor text with the service keyword.
Technical SEO:
- XML sitemap split by post type (auto via Yoast)
- Canonical tags on all pages (auto via Yoast)
- robots.txt: allow all, point to sitemap
- 301 redirects plan for any renamed/moved content
- Breadcrumbs enabled via Yoast + schema
- Clean permalinks: pick one post-permalink base that fits the site (do not force /blog/ on a post-centric site); /%postname%/ is fine for pages
- Lazy load all images below the fold, eager load hero/LCP image
- Core Web Vitals targets: LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms
SECURITY, ACCESSIBILITY & HONESTY (required):
- Escape all output (esc_html/esc_url/esc_attr), sanitize all input (sanitize_text_field + wp_unslash), and use a nonce + current_user_can() on every form handler and custom action. Emit JSON-LD with wp_json_encode().
- Target WCAG 2.2 AA: visible :focus-visible states, <label for> on every field, full keyboard operability, and @media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) around all motion.
- Never fabricate business data, testimonials, ratings, credentials, or stats; leave labeled {{TODO}} placeholders for anything the user has not supplied.
- PLUGIN INSTALL: some listed plugins are premium or not in the wordpress.org directory, so a single `wp plugin install` will error out. Split the list into free (wp.org) vs premium (upload/license), verify each slug, and note that gallery/group ACF fields and ACF Blocks need ACF Pro.
- Commit to ONE paradigm: a block theme (theme.json + block templates) OR a classic theme/builder — never mix them. If a plugin already owns a post type or feed (inventory, sermons, courses, job listings, podcast feeds), extend it — do not re-declare that CPT or emit a second, conflicting schema block.
Local SEO:
- Full NAP (Name, Address, Phone) in footer, consistent across all pages
- Google Business Profile integration (link in footer + schema)
- Location keywords in at least 3 page headings
- Embedded Google Map on contact/location page
- Target keywords include city/region: "school / educational institution in [City]"
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PERFORMANCE
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- WP Rocket + ShortPixel + Cloudflare
- Heavy image content (campus, students), optimize aggressively
- Mobile-first (parents/students mostly on phones)
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ANTI-PATTERNS TO AVOID
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- No emojis in headlines
- No fake stock photos of "diverse smiling students", use real students
(with parental consent)
- No autoplay video with sound on hero
- No "EXCITING NEWS!" exclamation marketing
- No buried admissions deadlines, make them prominent
- No "we love education" / "passion for learning" filler
- No tiny PDF download links, make them findable
- No outdated calendar (must always show current school year)
- No real test-score brand logos (SAT, ACT) without permission
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DELIVERABLE
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1. Site map
2. WP-CLI install commands
3. CPT + taxonomy registration
4. ACF JSON for faculty + program
5. theme.json
6. Homepage block markup
7. Admissions multi-step Gravity Form
8. Faculty directory template
9. Calendar + closure-banner block
10. SSO integration approach for SIS
11. Launch checklist (20 items)
This free prompt gives ChatGPT or Claude a complete build plan for a school website, from program and curriculum pages to a faculty directory, an admissions section, an events calendar, and a gated parent portal. It is aimed at schools that need prospective families to understand the programs and start an application, while current families get announcements, forms, and the calendar in one place. The result is a full WordPress specification a school office or a developer can build from.
What does the school website prompt build?
The plan maps every page an institution relies on across a school year. The homepage surfaces announcements, key dates, and an admissions call to action. Program pages describe each grade level or department with curriculum detail, and a faculty directory lists teachers with bios, subjects, and contact routes. An admissions section walks a family through the application steps with an inquiry form and downloadable paperwork. A parent portal sits behind a login for schedules, forms, and notices, and a student-life gallery shows the campus in use. The academic calendar, a news feed, and a contact page round it out, each delivered as Gutenberg markup on a shared theme.json.
Who is this school prompt for?
It suits K-12 schools, private academies, Montessori and charter schools, language schools, and small colleges that want a maintainable site instead of a sprawling page builder. Communications coordinators and admissions staff run it day to day, and it reads cleanly as a brief for an outside developer. If you are still weighing do you even need WordPress for a school this size, the stack notes help you decide, and you can browse the rest of our free AI website prompts for related builds. Schools that would rather hand off the whole thing can use our WordPress build service.
What’s inside the prompt?
- A brand and details block for your school’s name, colors, mission, and grade range
- A stack recommendation using a custom block theme, ACF Pro for structured content, The Events Calendar, Yoast SEO, and WP Rocket for speed
- A data model with program, faculty, and news structures plus department and grade-level taxonomies
- A theme.json design system covering color, typography, and spacing that reads professional to parents
- Gutenberg markup for the homepage, program pages, faculty directory, admissions, events, parent portal, gallery, and contact
- Guidance for gating the parent portal, including a membership plugin such as MemberPress if you need role-based access
- EducationalOrganization and School structured data, an XML sitemap, and keyword targets for “private school in [city]” style searches
- Core Web Vitals goals, caching setup, and a launch checklist with common school-site mistakes to avoid
Frequently asked questions
Can parents get announcements, forms, and the calendar in one place?
Yes. The parent portal is a gated area that collects the academic calendar, downloadable forms, lunch menus, and notices behind a login, and the public homepage still shows key dates and alerts. Families stop emailing the office for the same PDF every semester.
Does the prompt cover the admissions and application process?
It builds a dedicated admissions section that explains tuition ranges, the application timeline, and required documents, then captures inquiries through a form that routes to your admissions staff. The steps are laid out in order so a prospective family knows exactly what happens next.
Can we present programs, grade levels, and curriculum clearly?
Each program or department is its own page with curriculum detail, outcomes, and the faculty attached to it, organized by a grade-level taxonomy. Parents can move from a grade overview to a specific course without hitting a dead end.
How does EducationalOrganization schema help a school?
It tells search engines and AI answers that the site represents a real educational institution, not a generic business, and it carries your name, address, and grade range in a structured form. That improves how the school appears in knowledge panels and “schools near me” style results.
Can office staff update the calendar and news without a developer?
Yes. Events run through The Events Calendar and news posts use the standard editor with ACF fields, so a coordinator can add a snow day, a concert, or an admissions deadline in minutes. Nothing about routine updates requires touching code.
How to actually run this.
Copy the whole thing
All of it. Do not trim it down, every line is in there for a reason.
Swap in your details
Find the BUSINESS DETAILS part and drop in the real business. Name, what they do, all of it.
Paste and wait
Drop it into Claude for the first pass, or v0 if it is a landing page. Give it a minute.
Clean it up
Tweak the boring 10 percent. Spacing, mobile, that one cringe line. Ship it.
What’s next: from generated code to a website that works
The prompt did the hard 90 percent. What’s left is the boring 10 percent that turns a folder of code into a site people can actually find and trust. Here’s the whole checklist, in order.
1. Buy a domain
Grab your name at a registrar like Namecheap, Cloudflare, or Porkbun — about $10 to $15 a year for a .com. Skip the ten-year prepay and the upsells; you just need the domain and, ideally, the free WHOIS privacy most registrars now include.
2. Put it online
If the AI built you a static site (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), you can host it for free: drag the folder into Netlify or Vercel, or connect a GitHub repo, then point your domain at it. If it built a WordPress theme, you need WordPress hosting — pick a managed host, install WordPress, upload the theme, and connect the domain. Either way, turn on HTTPS; it’s free and automatic on every modern host.
3. Wire up the parts AI skips
Generated sites almost always ship with a contact form that goes nowhere and a fake “success” message. Connect it to a real endpoint (Formspree, Web3Forms, or a plain mailto link) so leads actually reach you. While you’re in there: add a favicon, swap the placeholder images for your own compressed photos, and open the site on your phone to catch whatever breaks on a small screen.
4. Do the basic SEO and AI-search setup
This is what gets you found on Google and cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and AI Overviews. The essentials: a unique title tag and meta description on every page, one clear topic per page, an XML sitemap submitted to Google Search Console, basic structured data (Organization and FAQ schema), and an llms.txt file so AI crawlers can read you. If that reads like a foreign language, our SEO optimization service does it as a flat-fee pass, and our free SEO checklist walks the DIY route step by step.
5. Make it fast
AI builders love shipping four-megabyte images and render-blocking scripts. Compress your images, lazy-load anything below the fold, and run the page through PageSpeed Insights until Core Web Vitals turn green — speed lifts both rankings and conversions, so it’s the rare fix that pays twice. Our speed optimization service handles it if you’d rather not.
6. Get found locally, and measure it
Add analytics (GA4, or a lighter option like Plausible) so you can see what’s working instead of guessing. If you serve a local area, set up a Google Business Profile and use the exact same business name, address, and phone number everywhere — that consistency is what lands you in the map pack and in local AI answers.
7. Keep it alive
A website isn’t set-and-forget, especially on WordPress. Budget for backups, security, and updates so a routine plugin update doesn’t take the site down six months from now. Our care plans cover all of it from $290 a month, or you can do it yourself — you own all the code either way.
When it’s worth handing off
If any of these steps stall you — and hosting, DNS, and SEO stall a lot of people — that’s exactly what we’re for. We build the whole thing at a flat fee, ship it live, and hand you the code on GitHub, having read every line the AI wrote. Or take the free prompts and run with it yourself. Both outcomes are genuinely fine with us.
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