What should a website for a daycare include?

A way to book a tour, the ages you take and where you have openings, your hours, a walk through a typical day, your license and safety practices, tuition or a range, and a waitlist form. Keep the first screen simple, because many parents read it on a phone at work.

Can parents book a tour online?

Yes. Add a tour as a service on your booking page, with its length and the times you can show people around. A parent picks a time and gives a name and email, and you both get a confirmation. A reminder goes out the day before, or at another time you choose.

Can parents pay tuition or log in through the site?

No. Shingle has no payments and no parent login or members' area. Tuition stays with your billing app or your office, and a link on the site can take current families to the app they already use. The website's job is reaching families who haven't enrolled yet.

Should a daycare website show children's photos?

Only with a parent's written permission, and you can do without them. Rooms, the outdoor play area and your teachers show parents what they want to see. Shingle fills gaps with stock photos or illustrations if you give it none, so replace those with your own before you publish.

Can we run a waitlist from the site?

You can collect one. A form sends each request to your inbox and your email, and you can change its fields or export the list as a CSV. It holds requests, so you keep the order and tell families where they stand. Check that your privacy page covers what your state asks.

Will Shingle invent our license or ratios?

It's built not to. License numbers, ratios, tuition and staff details come only from what you give it or your Google listing, and a separate review removes lines your facts don't support. Parents can check these against state records, so read every one before you publish.

Daycare sites built for the first tour

A parent is choosing who keeps their child safe all day. Show them why it's you.

What the home page says

Section by section, in the order a visitor reads it.

Book a tour
Parents decide in person, so make it the first button. A booking page with a tour as a service lets them choose a time without phone tag during nap time.
Ages and openings
Parents first need to know if you take their child, and when. List each room by age, say which have space and which have a waitlist, and change it the day it stops being true.
A day here
Walk through drop-off, meals, naps and outdoor time. It's what a parent pictures all day at work, and it shows how you teach without any jargon.
Safety and licensing
Your license number, the agency that issued it, your teacher-to-child ratios, background checks, CPR training and how pickup works. States post inspection reports online, so be ready to talk about yours.
Tuition and hours
Even a range saves both of you a wasted tour. Say what it includes, your late pickup rule, and whether you accept state child care assistance.
Waitlist form
For the rooms that are full. Ask for a parent's name and contact details, the child's age and a start date, and nothing more than you need.

How they search

daycare near me
infant daycare near me
licensed daycare near me
preschool near me
home daycare near me
daycare openings near me
after school care near me
part time daycare near me

What earns their trust

Your state license number, and where parents can look it up
Teacher-to-child ratios in each room
Background checks, and CPR and first aid training
How you handle drop-off, pickup and who may collect a child
Meals, allergies and medication, in plain words
Photos of your real rooms and outdoor play area
Children shown only with a parent's written permission
Reviews from parents of children you've cared for, quoted with permission

How it gets found

What moves a daycare up in a town's results.

Fill in your Google listing
Day care center, Child care agency and Preschool are all categories, so choose what your license says you are. Add your real opening hours and photos of your rooms.
Give infant care its own page
It's searched apart from preschool, and the worry is different. Cover safe sleep, feeding, ratios and how you tell parents about the day.
Match your state's directory
Parents also look you up in your state's child care search, which shows your license and inspections. Keep your name, address and ages the same on your site.
Mark up what's true
ChildCare structured data tells a search engine your address, phone and hours. Only list hours you keep, including your early drop-off and late pickup.

How to sell one

Daycares buy because the phone rings during nap time and nobody can get to it. Directors repeat the same answers on ages, hours and openings all week, and a parent who can't get one calls the next center on the list.

Show the director a page that answers those questions on a phone, with a tour a parent can book. Tell them early that the site doesn't need photos of children at all, because that removes the first worry for a lot of owners.

“We're full, with a waitlist.”: Then the site's job is the waitlist. A form collects it in one place, and the page answers the questions they're tired of. Children age up, and rooms open again.
“Parents find us by word of mouth.”: They do, and then they search the name before they call. What they find there decides whether the phone rings. A parent wants a license number as much as a friend's opinion.
“I don't want children's photos online.”: That's a good instinct, and the site doesn't need them. Rooms, the outdoor play area and the teachers do the job, and nothing goes up without their say.
“We already have an app for parents.”: That app serves families who've enrolled. The website is for the parent who hasn't found them yet. Current families can reach the app from a link on the site.