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Using
the WWW to promote Orienteering
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I
have divided the article up into a number of headings
and included all links in a column to the right of
the text.
Why
I think this is important: well I'll put this bit
in wen I finish the page properly.
 a
good thing
 a
thing that could be improved
best practice, or a suggestion for making it more
effective
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Introduction - the advantages of the WWW |
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Before
I start, a quick reminder about the two key advantages
of the WWW.
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It is (virtually - ho ho!) free. There are no delivery,
printing, enveloping costs to pay. This conserves club
funds for more targeted promotional activity / events
themselves.
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It is 'pull' technology. This means that the recipient
can go to the website and pull the information from
it themselves, rather than needing to be a recipient
of a mailing list or club magazine.
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links about the web.
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The Basics - Informative |
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"It
is great to have a website, but having a bad
website
is almost worse than not having one at all."
I
have no idea who originally made the comment above,
but it is a maxim always to be remembered while considering
an Internet presence. In general terms, websites evolve
over time from a 'virtual' business card, to become
informative (a pamphlet, product brochure etc),
then dynamic (a full-on catalogue or info-hub)
and finally transactional (on-line shop or
ordering). All stages are appropriate to orienteering
and they will be discussed below.
The
classic, basic information which should lie at the
core of any site is:
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Who we are
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Where we are
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What we do
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Contact information
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Corporate / product information
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Who
we are
Walton
Chasers' front page follows this strategy in order
to get the maximum general information across in as
straightforward a way as possible.
A
good example of the 'who we are' section can be found
at the Walton Chasers' website.
by including photographs of club kit and club tracksuit
on the front page creates an immediate corporate identity
which potential members will recognize when they turn
up at an event
the use of a frame to display the club logo and name
cramps the content of the site into a smaller part
of the screen.
include a photo or drawing of the club flag as this
will be the most visible target in the car park on
arrival - also in the 'contact us' section.
include photographs of committee members and key volunteers
a stranger might meet at a club event, so they have
a clue whom to approach.
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Walton
Chasers
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Where
we Are / What we do
Deeside
Orienteers start one of their two sites (confusion
here!) with the logo and strapline "Orienteering in
Cheshire and the Wirral, UK". This immediately identifies
the geography.
Says in simple terms what orienteering is, and where
it is happening.
The
4-line "What is orienteering" text is 'below the
fold' i.e. you have to scroll down to see it. Believe
it or not, research shows that most web users will
not
scroll down beyond what is initially visible when they
visit a new site.
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Deeside
Orienteers
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a simple outline map of the area they cover to reinforce
the "Orienteering in Cheshire and the Wirral,
UK" message. (This is what WCH do). or, like Northern
Navigators, include a link from your front page: "If you're new to orienteering then please click to find
out more." - it doesn't come any simpler. |
Northern
Navigators
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How
to get involved
This
is perhaps the CRUCIAL heading for O clubs and one
we often sideline, neglect, or simply don't make it
at all obvious! This goes hand in hand with 'contact
us' and I believe should be a priority for O websites,
alongside fixtures lists.
Airienteers wrote a section for the
BBC Bradford website. Come on WMOA clubs!
Do the same for your local Birmingham etc pages!
Devon
Orienteers have a great introduction to the
kit required.
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BBC
Bradford O Page
Devon
Orienteers
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Advanced - Dynamic and Interactive Content |
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next step up for a website is to become dynamic, interactive,
changing. All these great buzz words will encourage visitors
to come back to the site - and to keep coming back. If
they know that changing content will be posted there (events,
results, club news, club newsletter etc) on a regular
basis, then they will use it regularly. |
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News
lease
let me reiterate, a website's must be up-to-date to
be any cop. A great first step towards this is to put
club newsletters online. Wrekin do
this in a simple but effective way, and all issues
of "wrekinnoitre" are archived on line so you can get
a feel for the club's activities. Rod's great efforts
at producing the West Midlander as a .pdf are an excellent
step and I hope they will go on the WMOA site soon
too.
This e-publishing can also produce great savings to
a club in terms of copying / distribution.
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Wrekinnoitre
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Dynamic
content and the division of labour
Websites
can in time build a reputation for having useful, timely
information so that people turn first to the site. They
can also help to build a sense of community.
+:
The WMOA fixtures list, now built dynamically in
realtime from the BOF database http://www.pgopage.btinternet.co.uk/id34.htm
is a great idea - it is always as fresh as the data
available and doesn't rely on second re-keying of the
same information.
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... this page, as you can see, is not yet complete.
But I thougt I'd share what is transferred so far
with you, to stimualte your mind and thoughts.
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