Before developing a website, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who are the primary and secondary audiences? (Parents, donors, community leaders, etc.)
2. What is the objective of the site? (To increase membership, donations, keep parents informed?) This should be in line with your organization's overall goals.
3. What resources (money and/or personnel) are available to create and maintain this site?

Once you have answered these critical questions, you can begin building your site's infrastructure or sitemap. Then try to lay it out in a logical manner, making sure that information is quickly accessible and not buried deep in the site.

A Club website with top navigation may look like this:

Home

Club Info

News & Events

Volunteer

Donate

Contact Us

After you have established a top navigation, decide what information will be housed on each page, while avoiding burying information too deep in the site.

Writing for the Web

Writing for the web is different from writing for other media, because people scan a web page, picking out individual words and sentences, rather than read word for word as they would with a printed document.

For this reason, content must be kept concise.

Remember to:

• Keep sentences short and state the facts.
• Limit page scrolling. Try to keep your pages short, with the most important information staying "above the fold" (the length of an average scrollbar).
• Use bulleted lists to make page scanning easier.
• Hyperlink to the appropriate document.
• Try to have hyperlinks that lead away from your website open in a new window; you don’t want to lose your visitor by sending them off to another website.
• Post photos and graphics in a low resolution format for easy viewing.
• Secure photo releases for all youth images.
• Keep content relevant and current.

Remember, your website is a reflection of your Club and its services. It may be the first impression of your Club.