The costs of employing web agencies for a site build can be high. You have to explain your needs to the agency, your educational goals, your ethos and values, etc. You then have to work closely with them to ensure the site really promotes you effectively.

Often when sites are handed back to the school by the agency, they can remain static for months with their value decaying as they slide out of date. They quickly become a liability and can portray an image of a school as an organisation with an idea but not the drive to see it through.

Most schools are coming to realise that they have to constantly refine and update their sites, but that means paying the agency for every change, no matter how small. This is costly and time-consuming and it can all be avoided if your website is built and edited by your own staff.

You should use the LGfL Content Management System because:

• More than one person can contribute to the development of the site.
• It requires very little technical knowledge. If you can e-mail an attachment and use Windows Explorer to find a file, then you should be able to manage this system.
• The structure is built-in, you provide the content.
• No additional software needed; it's all on-line. Therfore it can be managed of any computer connected to the Internet.
• It is immediate, no need to wait for others to make changes, or to add material.
• You can make an unlimited number of changes to your site. 
• It is hosted on the LGfL server, so no additional hosting costs are involved for Lancashire LA schools.
  
• It offers better value when compared to buying a full HTML/Web design package and the time taken to learn how to use it.
• It is supported with locally based training, which is delivered by experienced teacher advisers who use the system themselves, in the work that they do to support schools with information and resources.