Farewell LGfL DigitalBrain School Websites

Many schools used the LGfL DigitalBrain portal service to provide their school website:

But,the portal service ceased on 31st July 2010. Read only access was provided until 31st December, but schools will no longer have access without incurring charges. You can read more on the LGfL website.

What’s left is a bit of a mess. Some school websites are out there but can’t be edited. Other websites are redirecting to the LGfL page in the link above. In addition, the original website address has also changed so it may appear your school website has disappeared:

www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/<LA-NAME>/schools/<SCHOOL-NAME>

has become:

www.digitalbrain.com/lgfl/leas/<LA-NAME>/schools/<SCHOOL-NAME>

Confusing huh?

The situation is also compounded by many Local Authorities listing out of date website addresses for schools.

Example DigitalBrain Website

Here’s some simple steps to help you sort things out for your school:

Step 1 – Determine your situation

1. Check your school website, even if you have a .sch.uk address – if it looks similar to the example above, or you see and LGfL message you still have a DigitalBrain website
2. If your web address is similar to www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/greenwich/schools/myschool you still have a DigitalBrain website
3. If you get a page not found error edit the green part of the address to www.digitalbrain.com/lgfl/leas/greenwich/schools/myschool to see your DigitalBrain website
4. Check the web link listed for your school on the LA website
5. Google your school and see what comes up – check any links which appear

Step 2 – Fix it

1. If the only website you have is a DigitalBrain website:

• You need to organise a new website asap. Your LA may be funding Webfronter for you so this is an option. It’s time consuming though and you’re unlikely to produce a professional looking website. Naturally, I’d recommend using a specialist provider.

2. If you have multiple websites:

• You need to ensure your DigitalBrain URL or .sch.uk URL redirects to your new website so that anyone googling your school and finding an old link will always find your new website. Speak to Atomwide/LGfL about this.

It’s a confusing situation, but I do hope that this has helped clarify things. If you have a question, post a comment and we’ll try and help.