Creating an EffectiveClub Website

Tips & Tricks for creating and maintaining an effective club website

Integration of your website and social media

How to get club news published by local media

Prepared by Rich Lalley, Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfield, District 6440 Club Service Advisor

The Most Visible Representation of Your Club to the World.

What Does Your Site Say About Your Club?

Vibrant or DullUp to Date or OutdateInteresting People or Faceless Inviting or For Insiders Only

Multiple AudiencesClub MembersOther RotariansProspective MembersSpeakersCommunity Groups & Partners

Content for all AudiencesWhat’s Rotary?What’s your club about?

Easy to contactWhere & when do you meet?

Interactive MapUpcoming ProgramsRecent and Current ProjectsUpcoming Events

Make Your Site Easy to FindA logical url (web address)

e.g. wnrotary.org; wilmetteharborrotary.org

Register with GoDaddy.com or other domain registration service

Use “Domain Masking” option to always display your domain vs. the Clubrunner address

Links to your site on partner sites; links to partner sites on your site. Helps Google, Bing and Yahoo find you!

A Professional Look; Easy to Read & Navigate Design

Transition to Clubrunner v2.0 Easy to upload Custom Banner Artwork

Make sure you have club name in Banner! Choose from Multiple Templates Easy to create Menu Links for easy

navigationMove beyond the default menu linksUse to make key pages easy to find

A Professional Look;Easy to Read & Navigate Design

Transition to Clubrunner v2.0 Many “widgets” available, making key

content easy to add• Basic Club information• Events• Speakers• Club Officers (data pulled from database)• RI Links & RSS feed• Sponsorship banners• Facebook “Like Button”

A Professional Look; Easy to Read & Navigate Design

Consistent use of a limited number of type fonts, sizes and styles enhances professional look

Incorporate Photos and Video Great RI video and Photos available

from Rotary.org, YouTube and Vimeo. Photos can be any size- not limited to

old systems thumbnails. Embed slide shows from Flickr or Picasa

Keep Content Up to Date Involve multiple club members.

Program Chair does Speakers Event Chairs post Events Bulletin Editor posts story on last meeting

Periodically review home page to see what content is out of date; remove or archive it.

Question the relevance of all content Calendar widget- does it really add any value

not provided by menu link to calendar? Do you need two places to Login (menu bar

and in column?

Keep Content Up to Date Don’t forget to check for relevant content

from RI and District. Remember Multiple Audiences.

Take Advantage of all the Features of Clubrunner

Website Content Event Management

Publicity/ email invites, track RSVPs, Committee Management Weekly Duty Roster Weekly Bulletins

Customized for each member

Take Advantage of all the Features of Clubrunner

Member Database and Email System Email members update requests Custom lists (e.g. Board, Committees) Integrated with District & RI (need to activate)

Attendance Tracking and Reporting Billing Sponsorships

Easily more than cover the annual cost of Clubrunner

Clubrunner Online Help and Webinars

Add Custom Content to Your Site Links to Social Networking sites (Club,

District, RI) and District eYellowPages Custom Polls via Zoomerang

Create a poll at Zoomerang, copy html code and paste into Custom Content html box on Website Designer

Banners linking to content Donate now Link to stories

Add Custom Content to Your Site RSS Feed widgets via

WidgetBox.com Displays feeds from Twitter, Facebook, Blogs,

any RSS source Integrate a Payment System

Dues & Meals Donations Fundraisers PayPal easy to set up and integrate, no

monthly fee, reasonable transaction rates

Final Website ThoughtsVisible link for visitor sign up for Club

Bulletin Sign up speakers and guests

Track your traffic with StatCounter. Get free code and copy into custom content

on home page • Use white font color to make invisible

Always check your links to make sure they work.

Links to outside pages should open a new browser window.

Final Website ThoughtsReview your site in multiple browsers,

not all display things the same way. IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome

Make sure you have rights to publish what you publish

Use “Add This” to quickly post website content to Facebook Page, Twitter, LinkedIn

Final Website ThoughtsInvolve more than one member.It’s always a work in progress; your

site is never done.Look at other sites for ideas to put in

your siteRemember, your website tells the

world what your club is all about.Seek help if you need it.Transition to v2.0 this week

Getting Published on Local Media

Identify your local publications and reporters TribLocal, Pioneer Press, Daily Herald,

The Patch (on-line only), What’s Happeing, Century Media Papers

Create an account on their website Do for club if allowed, otherwise do for yourself. Learn how to post stories, events, announcements

Follow reporters on Twitter (from your club account). Like the paper/site on Facebook.

Resources PayPal Charityauctionstoday.com Flickr or Picasa (slide shows) WidgetBox (for content feed widgets) Zoomerang (for poll widgets) SlideShare (to embed presentations) YouTube and Vimeo for videos RI Graphic Standards Guide Rotary.org for content and banners and photos Google Images for photos Developers.facebook.com Word or PowerPoint to format photos

ClubRunner Page Size Reference Chart

Banner960 Pixels

Side Column

185 pixels max

Center Column

450 pixels max

Side Column

185 pixels max

For Help, Contact Rich Lalley

Rotary Club of Winnetka-Northfieldwww.wnrotary.org

rlalley@yahoo.comwebmaster@rotary6440.org