Case Study: Giddens School achieves 62% more inquiries and 80% more applications with Finalsite Composer

How Giddens School Transitioned from Open Source to Finalsite

Giddens School, a small independent school whose website had not been updated since 2009, faced mounting problems with its open‑source CMS: slow, insecure and clunky design, difficult navigation, time‑consuming content updates, and poor integration with school systems — all especially burdensome for a marketing team of one to three people. Leadership prioritized a redesign to better tell the school's story, improve SEO and usability, and support recruitment, enrollment, alumni and donor engagement.

Giddens moved to Finalsite Composer, adopting built‑in tools like Calendar Manager and Forms Manager and shifting to more digital marketing strategies (AdWords, Facebook and Instagram) outlined in Finalsite webinars. The new site launched in time for the school year, streamlined daily maintenance, improved user experience and inbound efforts, and drove a 62% year‑over‑year increase in inquiries and an 80% increase in applications.

Giddens School

Amy Bresslour

Director of Institutional Advancement