Branding your Explore site

Your Explore site uses your logo, colors, and wording, so families know it comes from your organization. This article covers each branding choice and what to send your Avela team.

Your site link

Choose one:

Standard Avela link, for example explore.avela.org/yourdistrict
Custom subdomain on your own website, for example explore.yourdistrict.org. To use a custom subdomain, your IT team will need to collaborate with Avela’s Engineering team. Notify your Avela CS representative if you want to pursue this option.

Logo

Provide an image file of your logo. For best performance, provide two versions of your logo: one on a white background and one on a dark background. Each logo image will need to be available in a PNG format and in an SVG format.

Your logo can also serve as a clickable link if you specify a destination to your Avela representative.

Favicon

The favicon is the small icon that appears in the browser tab. Provide a small, square version of your logo (32 x 32 pixels works best).

If no favicon image is provided, the Avela logo will display instead.

Colors

Choose colors from your brand palette for two purposes:

Banner color: The bar behind the search, Filter, Keyword, and Saved Schools buttons
Default pin and highlight color: Map pins, selected buttons, and other highlights

Send each as a hex value, like #1A4C8B. Pick colors with strong contrast against white and against each other, so text and pins are easy to see. Your Avela CS rep can help you choose.

There is the option to set up multiple color pins, so families can tell sites apart at a glance, for example by school type, program, or provider. Multiple color pins are configured in your Explore Data Sheet. See [Colored pins].

Header links or message

Add up to four links at the top right of your site. Pick the actions that matter most to families:

Apply now
Enrollment timeline or key dates
Eligibility requirements
Contact us

Instead of links, you can show a short message, like your mission statement or a seasonal note ("Registration for summer 2026 is closed, check back next year").

Disclaimer

A small text box below the list. Common uses:

Your enrollment office contact information
Which school year the data covers, for example "This information is for the 2026–27 school year and may change."

Update the disclaimer every year as part of your refresh.

Apply Now button

If you use Explore to Apply, choose the button text and the link it goes to. See Explore to Apply integration.

Wording

You can rename "Schools" throughout the site to fit what you're showing, like "Sites," "Programs," or "Placement Communities."

What to send your Avela team

Item	What to send
Site link	Standard or custom subdomain
Logo	Image file (white and dark background) + link destination
Favicon	Image file (optional)
Banner color	Hex value
Pin and highlight color	Hex value
Header	Up to 4 link labels and URLs, or a message
Disclaimer	Text
Apply Now	Button text and link (if applicable)
Wording	What to call your sites (optional)

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