Rethinking your sport organization’s website
It’s a familiar conversation in amateur sport: “We need a new website.” And sometimes, you absolutely do.
But often the website itself isn’t the biggest problem. The real issue is what has accumulated inside it. Years of adding pages, documents, programs, registration information, policies, news and resources can turn what was once a relatively simple website into a complicated information library.
Before jumping into a website rebuild, it’s worth asking a more important question: What do people actually need from it? Here are five things to consider.
1. Know who your website is for
Members. Athletes. Parents. Coaches. Officials. Volunteers. Clubs. Sponsors. Prospective participants.
Sport organizations serve a lot of different audiences, and they don’t all visit your website for the same reason. Before thinking about design or navigation, identify your most important audiences and what each one needs to find or accomplish.
2. More information isn’t always better
Sport organizations accumulate content.
A new program gets a page. A policy gets uploaded. An event gets added. A new committee needs information posted.
Very little ever gets removed. Over time, the challenge becomes less about providing enough information and more about helping people find the information that actually matters. A website refresh is a great opportunity to simplify, consolidate and prioritize.
3. Navigation should follow strategy
It’s tempting to begin a website project by debating menu items. Start somewhere else.
What are your organization’s priorities? Who are your audiences? What actions do you want visitors to take? Once those questions are answered, the navigation becomes much easier to build.
4. Your website should tell your story
Operational information is essential, but your website shouldn’t simply be a filing cabinet.
Athlete journeys, club successes, coach profiles, volunteer stories, competition coverage and community impact all help demonstrate what your organization actually does. They also give prospective members, sponsors and partners a reason to spend time with your brand.
5. Think ecosystem, not website
Your website shouldn’t operate independently from your newsletter and social media.
A strong athlete story might begin as a website feature, become part of the newsletter, generate several social posts and provide an opportunity to recognize a partner. One good piece of content can work across multiple channels. That creates greater reach while actually reducing the communications workload.
The bottom line
A new website can improve how your organization looks.
A better content strategy improves how your organization communicates.
Before you start choosing templates, colours or platforms, take the time to understand your audiences, simplify your content and determine what role your website should play within your overall communications strategy. Because sometimes the best website project starts long before anyone starts building the website.