Analysis Of Our Website - From Dream to Reality...

Individual Role/Problems/Anything else

In the first few weeks of the project, me and John took a step back, sat down and planned our website thoroughly as opposed to jumping straight in and getting on with it.

We began by analysing what we already had to work with or in other words, what the original site gave us to work with. And unfortunately, for the transformation that we were looking to achieve, this was not a lot.

So we started the research and planning of the project by looking at three supporters club’s websites that were already out there in order to get an idea of what we looking to achieve. Immediately it became clear that most supporters club’s sites were basic and rarely updated. However those that were did not have half the features that we were planning on installing, so whilst we used these sites for ideas, most notably a personalised Google search bar, it was pretty much a case of going at it alone and breaking the conventions of the current websites for supporters clubs up and down the country.

By week 2 we had brainstormed numerous ideas individually and we sat down and analysed each others ideas. We combined the two lists and then produced a basic page by page plan, which was eventually re-drafted on numerous occasions throughout the project, but it gave us a good foundation to work with.

One idea that we decided to knock on the head was our 50/50 focus on news from the supporters club and Gillingham Football Club. Our research showed that there was plenty of sites out there that gave club news. And after all, the supporter’s club site is where members would go to look for supporter’s club news – not the other way round. In the end we decided to install a simple RSS feed for club news and
by week 3 we had finished planning all the pages, we had gone off individually and created draft banners and chosen the best one and had come up with fresh ideas for our homepage.

It was now time to get down to the nitty gritty.

This module was titled ‘Web Design and Creation’. Therefore we wanted to go out, buy some software and start from scratch as we felt that this would definitely be the most rewarding approach. We would become familiar with every last aspect of creating a website including all the features and html code, whilst the experience also meant that we had both grasped a good knowledge of using the software, Microsoft Front Page.

However immediately we had problems getting hold of the software. At one point we were going to change our minds and opt for Dreamweaver, but through my own experiences, had found it more difficult to use and get to grips with.
The problem we faced was that in the latest Microsoft Office Packages, FrontPage does not come as standard and in the 2003 edition it only comes on a second disc - something that took us a while to realise. We didn’t really want to use software from 2000 although at one point it was looking like we might have to.

Once we were all sorted, John went off and created the layout for the homepage and News page whilst I did the Away Travel and GISC pages.

As we installed a toolbar down the side, something that the previous site did not have, it meant that immediately the whole site was easier to navigate around. However through my planning, I decided that if we also installed a second toolbar along the top in the GISC and Away Travel pages, it would make navigation even easier, something that I am sure you will agree with now that the project is finished.

John then went off and did the same with the Links and Contact Us pages and it left me with the Blog, Media and Shop pages, which all in all were pretty basic pages to design.

We had reached a stage by the Easter break where we had the majority of our pages designed but it was just a case of filling in the gaps. So we deemed it necessary to meet up over the holiday to discuss how to take the site forward. By the time we went our separate ways, we had all the pages designed but I felt that we were still lacking features and most importantly of all, good news stories.

When I went back to the site to finish it off, I decided that I wasn't that keen on its look. The layout was fine but the use of colour seemed a little basic and I took the decision (as group editor) to change all that myself.

First things first I put all the text on a dark blue layer on top of the theme, experimenting with the colour blue, the traditional colour of the football club.

I then installed a title for every page, using a simple white font on a black background but this stands out and appears incredibly effective.

Next was when a good project became a website. We were lacking conventional website features and I again deemed it necessary to stand up as editor of the project and install some of these functions which are so essential to the modern website and also to the success of the project.

Firstly I installed a poll on the home page allowing for user interaction and a personalised Google Search Bar allowing users to find archived news articles easily and giving them the option to conduct a full Google search quickly and efficiently.

The RSS Feed on the News page allows users to access club news and supporter’s club news in the same place.

From the start we also wanted to install the Google Checkout function, allowing the club's members to join/renew online and ultimately modernising the website.

Next was the introduction of Google Maps. We thought that this would be a good facility, not necessarily for those getting the coach to the game, but certainly for those making their own way by car. It allows users to get directions and view the area and its surrounding amenities.

One of the major successes of the project is allowing the club's members to view the newsletter online for the first time. Members have previously requested for copies of archived material and this solves that problem. In the future, I would hope to build up an archive dating back 15/20 issues but this will be addressed at a later date.

The Shop page was originally going to advertise programmes and GISC merchandise, but we soon realised that Google would take around 8% of everything we sold and after deliberating with other members of the committee, we deemed it necessary to opt for a different approach. By simply advertising the price of programmes we have seen a rise in sales and more recently, a bunch of old programmes were advertised on EBay, so I linked the page to the auctions, again seeing an unexpected profit.

From the start, user interaction was deemed as an important aspect of our project and the installation of the message board should provide that. More so, the blogs page has seen a fan offer to blog for us on a weekly basis and there has been more interest in this from other members. I shall also blog myself at the start of the next campaign and feel that given time, this could well be a very effective and popular part of the site.

Finally we needed good stories for our homepage and after I dragged John along to a committee meeting, we went out to the opening of a new social club where we took pictures for the site; we then got together and wrote stories about the Legends Night and Player of the Year Voting and also the club’s quiz night. There were also one or two smaller stories such as the recruitment of a treasurer and the advertising of the away games against Leeds and Bristol Rovers that I did personally. I also interviewed the chairman of the GISC, which can be found in the media page.

After the site went online, it was an immediate hit with the club’s members and we saw traffic to the website increase by 33% in the first week alone. After then advertising the site through the club’s Wikipedia page, Google/Yahoo bookmarks, Technorati and Backflip, we have seen the average number of visitors to the site increase to around 200 a day, an 80% increase on its users before we began the re-design.

More recently I attended the Legends Night advertised on the site taking numerous pictures at the event of which many can be found online. I wrote the stories on the event and player of the year and got quotes etc from the chairman.

How did you identify a target market for the project and how did you manage to reach that market?

After analysing the club’s target market through our research and my own experiences from being a member we discovered that the age range that we needed to target was about 25 onwards. The club has very few younger members, but obviously all those who are members are fans of Gillingham Football Club.

What we wanted to do was modernise the site but also keep our target market in mind. For instance if you look at the homepage, it is quite clear and simple. The links are quite large and all the main areas such as away travel, membership and parking are advertised clearly. The introduction of the blog, message board was introduced with those at the bottom end of the age range in mind but everything else is quite broad and appeals to a wider market.

One idea from our research that was scrapped during the project was to have 100% online membership. However with our target age range in mind, we deemed it necessary to continue offering the postal option for renewals/new members.

THE FUTURE
I am going to continue with my role and am committed to increasing the site’s traffic and making it as popular as it used to be a few years ago. A lot of this will depend on the success of the club but with a website as successful as ours has been, it is certainly a good foundation.