Amatuer Clubs Websites

Many amateur share the problem of needing a website that:

· Keep up with what's happening.
· Reports on the latest event, photos, etc
· Telling new members where they are, how much things cost and when events are happening etc.

However, many clubs do not have the money to keep paying a web developer to make the changes.

A solution to this is:
Set up a simple website has:
1. Fixed or permanent information e.g. location, costs, contact info.
2. A blog that can be updated by the club secretary to add information, news and pictures, match results etc..
3. The web developer then builds a "site feed" which drags the information from the blog so it appears, is if by magic on the club's website.

This gives the best of both worlds – a website that is low cost to set up and lets the club regularly update the website without having to pay for a web developer or have training in web programming.

Updating a blog is as easy as writing an email.


To give an idea of cost –
1. You need a “domain name” – this is what you type into the internet to get to your website e.g. “www.my_club.com - costs around £20 per year - depending on if you want a “.com” or a ".co.uk”.
2. Then the website has to sit on a “server” which is connected to the internet
– this is called “hosting”. The cost of hosting a small website approximately £5 per month.
3. Some money for the designing and production of the simple website. 2-3 hours work.

What about twitter?
A twitter feed could also be included on the website, and this is a good idea for short news items like "the game has been cancelled!". This can be updated by phone and followed by members by phone too.