Hi, I’m Kayla. I’m that PTO person with the color-coded binder and coffee stains. Over two school years, I built and ran three different PTO websites. Real sites. Real parents. Real chaos. If you’re hunting for a PTO website builder, here’s what actually worked for us—and what made me mutter at my laptop at 11 p.m.
For a second opinion on this exact scramble, you can skim a detailed case study from the Website Builder Awards team—they built three PTO sites so you don’t have to.
I used:
- PTBoard
- Givebacks (this used to be MemberHub)
- Squarespace with Cheddar Up for payments
You know what? They all did the job. But they felt very different when my phone buzzed during school pickup and I had to fix a typo on the “Fun Run” page in 30 seconds flat.
What We Needed (The Non-Negotiables)
- A clean homepage with news
- A store for spirit wear and memberships
- A calendar parents can add to their phones
- Volunteer sign-ups that don’t break
- A directory that respects privacy
- Easy payments (credit card, Apple Pay)
- Pages I can update from my phone without tears
Nice-to-have:
- Custom domain with our school name
- Built-in email or at least easy email lists
- A way to do tickets for events like Fall Carnival
PTBoard: The “All-in-One That’s Actually One Piece”
I used PTBoard for our first year. I set it up in August during “Back to School Night” week. Wild timing, I know. But PTBoard didn’t fight me.
Curious what the platform looks like in real life? You can browse the tools and feature list on the PTBoard website and see how it lines up with your own PTO wish list.
What I built:
- Home page with a welcome note, our big blue banner, and a “Join the PTO” button
- Calendar with iCal feed (parents loved that)
- Volunteer sign-ups for Book Fair and the Fall Carnival
- A store for spirit wear and PTA memberships
- A private directory with family opt-ins
- A teacher wishlist page with Amazon links
What felt good:
- The calendar and sign-up sheets live in the same world. No hopping around.
- The store handled sizes for t-shirts and tracked inventory. That saved me.
- Directory privacy was clear. Parents understood what they were sharing.
- Custom domain setup took me one lunch break.
Where I groaned:
- Themes looked a bit dated out of the box. Not ugly, just meh.
- Page spacing got weird when I pasted text from Google Docs. I fixed it, but still.
- The mobile editor worked, but it felt cramped. Desktop was easier.
- Customer support answered, but not fast during peak season. Think a day, not an hour.
Real example:
We sold “Glow Run” shirts in neon colors. I set up variants for size and color. Inventory counted down by itself. During pickup, a mom wanted to change size. I found her order, edited it, and saved it—right at the cafeteria table. That was nice.
Verdict:
PTBoard is stable, full-featured, and built for schools. If you want “everything in one” and a simple workflow, this fits. It’s not flashy, but it works hard.
Givebacks (MemberHub): PTA Roots With Fundraising Muscle
We used Givebacks the next year. Our state PTA kept nudging us, and honestly, the built-in store and fundraising tools were solid.
Want to kick the tires yourself? The Givebacks homepage has demos and a free trial so you can see how memberships, fundraising, and communication flow together.
If you’re curious how another PTA parent tackled the same decision matrix, this no-fluff review of PTA website builders is worth a peek—it’s a real-world take written after building a full PTA site.
What I built:
- A clean home page with quick links: “Join,” “Donate,” “Volunteer”
- Store with bundles (Family Membership + Yard Sign)
- A digital membership card (people liked that)
- Email blasts and text alerts for early morning delays
- A spring auction with simple checkout
What felt good:
- Memberships tied right into the directory and email lists.
- The store was fast. Apple Pay worked at the Fun Run table.
- The “givebacks” fundraising tools helped us run a no-fuss donation push.
- Reports made our treasurer smile. That alone is gold.
Side note: mastering short-form messaging is its own art. Figuring out how to make a 160-character snow-day alert sound friendly (not frantic) sent me down a rabbit hole on digital etiquette. For a surprisingly helpful crash course in timing, tone, and engagement, peek at this guide to Tinder sexting strategies—it dissects message psychology so you can swipe a few micro-copy tricks for PTO texts that parents actually read. And if you ever swing through Mississippi and want to bypass endless event listings to line up something fun in minutes, the local rundown of Skip the Games in Tupelo can help you cut through the clutter and connect with real people fast—freeing up more of your weekend for, you know, PTO spreadsheets and snack-duty prep.
Where I groaned:
- The site editor is basic. Blocks are simple, which is fine, but design control is limited.
- Mobile editing worked, but the toolbar covered things on my iPhone. Annoying.
- Pages sometimes got quirky spacing after pasting. I learned to use “plain text” first.
Real example:
For “Teacher Appreciation Week,” I made a page with five tabs: Meals, Gifts, Door Signs, Notes, and “Random Acts.” Parents grabbed slots in minutes. I watched the sign-ups fill while stirring taco meat. Multitasking at its peak.
Verdict:
Givebacks is very PTA-friendly. If you want smooth memberships, store, and fundraising in one hub, this is great. Design is simple, but the workflow sings.
Squarespace + Cheddar Up: Pretty Face, Power Tools on the Side
This was our combo year. We wanted a gorgeous site and full control of design. So we used Squarespace for the website and Cheddar Up for payments, forms, and tickets.
What I built:
- A modern home page with big photos, clean buttons, and a “What’s New” strip
- A “Programs” page with simple icons for Yearbook, Science Night, and Garden Club
- A calendar I synced from Google Calendar
- Cheddar Up pages for memberships, spirit wear, the 5th Grade Night, and the Book Fair
- Embedded buttons and QR codes from Cheddar Up
What felt good:
- Squarespace design is lovely. It felt like our school branding, not a template.
- Editing on mobile was smooth. I fixed typos in the car line.
- Cheddar Up forms were quick. I built a “Glow Dance” ticket page in 20 minutes.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay made checkout breeze by. Lines moved fast.
Where I groaned:
- Data lived in two places. Site edits in Squarespace, orders in Cheddar Up.
- I exported CSVs from Cheddar Up for emails. Then I cleaned them in Google Sheets.
- Directory? We used a Google Form + private page. It worked, but it wasn’t built-in.
- Volunteer sign-ups worked in Cheddar Up, but people missed reminders sometimes.
Real example:
Our “Fun Run 2024” page had a big progress bar image and simple text. I linked a Cheddar Up donation button. We raised enough to fund library stools in three weeks. I posted updates twice a day. It felt alive.
Verdict:
If you want a polished brand feel and don’t mind light admin work, this combo is dreamy. If you want one system, this is not that.
Quick Compare (From My Messy Notebook)
- PTBoard: Best all-in-one for schools. Solid sign-ups, store, directory, calendar. Design is fine, not fancy.
- Givebacks: Great for PTA flow—memberships, store, email, and fundraising. Editor is simple but steady.
- Squarespace + Cheddar Up: Best look and fast mobile edits. But you’ll manage two systems.
Need more benchmarks? I cross-checked each platform against the independent ratings at the Website Builder Awards and the results lined up with my experience. They’ve also got a hands-on rundown of the best free website builders for nonprofits if your budget is toast.
“Okay, Kayla, Which One Would You Pick?”
If I have a full board and no tech folks:
- PTBoard or Givebacks. Less juggling. Clear tools. Fewer oops moments.
If I have someone who cares about design and doesn’t mind a little data wrangling:
- Squarespace + Cheddar Up. It feels like a real school brand.
For a tiny school with one superstar volunteer:
- Givebacks. The built-in emails and store save time during crunch weeks.
Tiny Gripes, Honest Wins
- Inventory: PTBoard and Cheddar Up