I have been chatting to a few people at the club and they agree with my thoughts regarding the sprucing up/modernising of the club website. It is afterall most peoples first point of contact, so we should make it as good as we can and also make as useful as we can for current members. I have created a few company websites and would like to take it on. Although Ive not been with the club that long it is a skill I can use. Ive spoken to Brian who looks after it at the moment and he says 'Go for it'.
My general idea is to give the site a modern feel. Website designs goes through trends and they can soon look dated.
As well as modernising the look we could include the following :-
A page to show up and coming race events, this could be updated on very regular basis.
A page to show striders times in recent races.
A page explaining 'The Handicap' and how it is calculated etc.
A page explaining 'The Grand Prix'
A page showing up to date info on the attendance record, maybe a graph or chart etc. which should encourage attendance.
A page to show the club training schedule
A page to show the fun side/the social side of the club. Photos of presentation evening or the Christmas do, that sort of thing.
A page showing the past club trophy winners for the various club awards.
A page to link to the newsletter.
All the links to the training guides/nutrition/clothing etc. can still be included.
Any of the pages could be password protected so that only club members could access them if we need to.
I would love to get all your views on what you think and what we should include/exclude. That includes the views of our brand new members right through to our 'lifers'. Also if any visitors/potential members are reading this perhaps you could throw in your 'two pence' worth. Once Ive gathered all that info I could produce some examples over Christmas while Im off work, then if we have an AGM in the New Year (which I understand we are) we could discuss it further.
I think what you are proposing is a great idea, and from past experience I know it has the potential to be a big commitment.
To reduce the burden on you, it would be ideal if we had a Content Management System (CMS) which would allow all authorised members to update regardless of their technical knowledge. As you probably know there are a number of free open-source CMS available such as Mambo/Joomla. These have the benefit of being able to integrate with packages such as PHPBB (for Message Boards) and Gallery (for photos).
I am going to stop before this all gets a bit geeky, so I will have a chat with you off-line, if you need any assistance I am happy to help.
Oh my I didnt even understand half of that technical jargon! But yes, website ideas are good. I have been speaking to Frank about making club records available online and also past handicap and grandprix winners because they have been going many years. I have plenty of photos (as you have seen on facebook) to add. I think the main thing, is to still make it accessible for all members to use- ie some people have opted not to become a 'member' online and just post messages as and when they choose. I think we still need to retain this a) for new members and b) for those who may not be as tech savvy and don't want the hassle of creating a profile. John I would be more than happy to help you over Christmas as it is something I am quite keen on. See you all tonight
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Rach Club Captain
"There are clubs you can't belong to; neighbourhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open."
Carol I agree!!! god knows how i got mine! I think it was a sympathy thing!!! website will be fab! I will go with the flow! anything to get off facebook!! I think its a very good idea that its members only altho its useful for potential members to perhaps see training plans before they think of joining, after all if you werent absconded on the lancs you porbably used this site for info!!! i think discussion boards should be kept members only
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I am made of all the days you don't see, not just the 1 that you do .......:)
You could setup a "redirect" from the old site address to the new one so if a user types in oldaddress.com it goes directly to newaddress.com without the user knowing it has happened.
re-directs are no problem, the site does need a bit of a kick up the backside as its basically a blog with a message board attached, and runners tend to be into stats, records etc.We get a lot of feedback via the site in terms of new member enquiries and a better site will only help the feedback and help Striders continue to grow.Oh, and I just paid my subs after Les threatened to send the boys around :)
we are planning a meeting 25th - wondered if you are possibly free to share your experience?
You've looked after it so well so far and would be good for your advise and hopefully we will not repeat any pitfalls you may have experienced in the past.
We can wear a red rose so you can recognise us after so long and if you look on google earth you may find your way to the club!!
Hope you are well and running is healthy? or too much facebook usage? Sandra must be as much a facebook widow as I am!!
we are planning a meeting 25th - wondered if you are possibly free to share your experience?
You've looked after it so well so far and would be good for your advise and hopefully we will not repeat any pitfalls you may have experienced in the past.
We can wear a red rose so you can recognise us after so long and if you look on google earth you may find your way to the club!!
Hope you are well and running is healthy? or too much facebook usage? Sandra must be as much a facebook widow as I am!!
Not sure about the 25th but i'll be down on Wednesday believe it or not... Entered a spring marathon so need the aggro