Good club websites

[Paul Cooksey]

Witney won this years best site prize with: http://www.witneychess.co.uk/, in case it got missed on page 35 of the latest funding debate.

Two thoughts:
1. Is there any best practice Mike or anyone else would like to share about their site, both technically and in terms of content?
2. I think "find your local club" deserves greater prominence on the ECF website. I'd like it to jump out at a newcomer. Clickable maps are cool in my opinion.

[Mike Truran]

Starter for ten (OK - four):

1. Get a good webmaster and be nice to him/her.

2. Make sure content is posted regularly.

3. Get as many club members as possible involved in the content as possible.

4. Games and photos always liven up a website. No smut though.

[David Robertson]

The Witney CC site is another from Steve Connor's outstanding collection of chess websites. The award is hugely deserved, and long overdue.

I first submitted one of Steve's website for the award in 2007. It was the well-known Atticus CC website. The site continues today although it, and a number of us, are no longer associated with that club. The original site is here

http://www.atticuschess.org.uk

In 2007, the Atticus website was streets ahead of any other in the country in terms of professional design, site maintenance, topicality and visual ease. But the ECF judges, in their infinite wisdom, chose to place the award elsewhere. Speculations as to the reasons for this have been suggested to us since, but they are of no consequence. Steve isn't short of professional praise from those whose opinions are to be valued.

So congratulations to Witney CC for their award. Club members there will be the first to thank Steve. He deserved to win in 2007 for his own brilliant and ground-breaking club site. But he's delighted to have helped Witney to the 2011 award.

And if you want to know how Atticus CC members, having removed Steve as webmaster, currently prefer their site, you can go here. A 'compare & contrast' exercise might answer part of Paul's query.

http://www.atticus.merseysidechess.org.uk

[Nick Ivell]

Dave

I agree that the original Atticus website was fantastic. A standard for all clubs to follow. Although I never contributed, I always enjoyed reading your trenchant posts.

I always assumed you were Atticus through and through. Indeed, I recall playing matches at your house in the 1970s. As a matter of interest, why has your association with the club ended?

Nick

[David Sedgwick]

Dave

I agree that the original Atticus website was fantastic. A standard for all clubs to follow. Although I never contributed, I always enjoyed reading your trenchant posts.

I always assumed you were Atticus through and through. Indeed, I recall playing matches at your house in the 1970s. As a matter of interest, why has your association with the club ended?

Nick

Oh dear. This reminds me of the occasion a few years ago when Chris Rice of Kent asked why Greater Manchester were in the MCCU rather than the NCCU. A month or so later he made a desperate request for no-one to send him any more material on the subject.

[Mike Truran]

Dave - I agree with all you say. Steve is a great webmaster. As well as the Witney webmaster, of course he is also the 4NCL webmaster, and does a brilliant job there as well.

So well done Steve, and thank you for all our help.

[David Robertson]

I agree that the original Atticus website was fantastic. A standard for all clubs to follow. Although I never contributed, I always enjoyed reading your trenchant posts. I always assumed you were Atticus through and through. Indeed, I recall playing matches at your house in the 1970s. As a matter of interest, why has your association with the club ended?

Good to hear from you, Nick. It's been a long time! Hope you are well. Strange how this congenial obsession of ours never releases its grip, even as the years roll by I am indeed Atticus through and through, as is John Carleton with whom I founded the club 39 years ago. Alas that club is no longer ours. We are now the 'Spirit of Atticus', happily active in the 4NCL and increasingly elsewhere. You'll excuse me, I hope, if I do not disfigure a thread dedicated to websites and congratulations to deserving people by raking over difficult disputes. In any event, this forum is the last place for that If you really want to know the story, set aside a week or so; book yourself into a Liverpool hotel; and we'll supply the rest. Though don't expect to have your faith in humanity either confirmed or restored

Otherwise - back on topic - Mike Truran is correct: for a club website, keep it busy with results, games, news - and if you like living dangerously, with trenchant comments too

[Mike Truran]

......and with Latin quotes to keep the intellectual standard up to snuff. Carl - does ecforum support Classical Greek?!

[David Robertson]

......and with Latin quotes to keep the intellectual standard up to snuff. Carl - does ecforum support Classical Greek?!

Yes, you reminded me. My signature quote on the Atticus Forum was Optimum semper profectum, composed only after extensive debate with a certain chess-editing (and -playing) Oxbridge Classics graduate. We, or more pertinently, I intended it to mean The Best (must) always (be) Made Better - that is: 'made better' as in 'improved'. But that font of all wisdom, Google Translate, would have it as Progress is always the best. I agree with that too!

The point of this digression is to point up my belief that a successful website - where 'success' is a function of readership - is one with its own style, quirks, risky endeavours. For example, the well-read and well-regarded Streatham & Brixton blog is by no means the most stylish in presentational terms. But it is fabulous in terms of intelligent readability, variety, wit, and iconoclasm. My personal favorite posts are those on chess & art (by Martin Smith?). Worth reading for those alone. In a different but parallel context, the original Atticus website garnered thousands of readers, and hundreds of contributors, because of the Atticus Forum. I don't doubt my 'trenchant posts', not to everyone's taste certainly, played a significant part in the site's success.

To be that successful - if that is what one seeks - a website must have voice, a pungent sense of its own mission, and a vision beyond its local audience. Absent any of that, a club website can still succeed with its audience if it becomes the principal 'go to' for timely news and information. Key word is 'timely'. All websites need to be regularly refreshed with updated content.

[Michael Jones]

1. Get a good webmaster

Easier said than done! From 2002-2010 Warwick Uni CC had two successive fairly dedicated webmasters (Joey Stewart and then me), with the result that the site (http://www.sunion.warwick.ac.uk/chess) was regularly updated and, if not as good as some others, at least served its purpose of imparting information about the club fairly well. We couldn't get a reliable webmaster for 2010-11 and as a result it's hardly been updated all season.

[John Upham]

We couldn't get a reliable webmaster for 2010-11 and as a result it's hardly been updated all season.

A common error is to rely on one person to update an old style web site with an old style "Web Master" feeling pressured to find new content that he or she might believe that no-body looks at. So many sites start with someone full of enthusiasm and a desire to teach themselves new skills into the bargain. Having got the site published the enthusiasm wanes and the virtual cobwebs proliferate.

Having many persons being able to contribute articles on an ad hoc basis is a more sustainable way forward.

The Streatham & Brixton blog and any other blog platformed sites are good examples using solutions such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla! and the like.

A Facebook Group or Organisation type site is another option always allowing for the fact that some will be pleased to claim that they do not use FB for varied reasons: a badge of honour maybe?

Some clubs employ a Twitter feed to keep their members updated.

Old style static sites with a solitary web master are hopefully a thing of the past.

[JamesMurphy]

I setup my club (Chorlton Chess Club) website in a matter of weeks using Wordpress.

Although it takes a little bit of technical know how to setup it literally only takes about 30-minutes to an hour to get the website up and running on a web host. You can even host it yourself if you have a dedicated IP.
In order to get the website off the ground I had to babysit it for around 6 months or more to get content up there and generate interest in it. I initially had a lot of interest from a number of people in the club especially with the forums but that seems to have died down a bit now although I have found an evangelist in our club who constantly updates it with videos etc.

It's really simple for people to add content via the Wordpress backend. The main issue I have with others adding content is formatting. I simply don't have enough time myself to sit down and re-write badly structured articles, many corporate sites pay professional copywriters to write their content but unfortunately when relying on your own club members (who may not natively speak english) it can be difficult.

However, I think in order for you to keep the website going it's better to have someone who is incredibly passionate about chess and the club than someone who can write great articles but will quickly lose interest.

I'm actually a Java developer for Autotrader.co.uk so I'm a techie and a developer at heart. If anyone is interested in knowing anything about how to set up websites and run them then let me know. I'm planning on starting up my own Chess website to rival some of the bigger chess websites out there.

Anyway drop me an IM or email me if you're interested in knowing more about running your own club site.

[John Upham]

I'm planning on starting up my own Chess website to rival some of the bigger chess websites out there.

I would target ChessBase and ChessVibes as a starter for ten and then work upwards to PlayChess.Com, ChessWorldl.Net, ICC and ChessCube: Aim high!

[Nick Ivell]

I agree that the original Atticus website was fantastic. A standard for all clubs to follow. Although I never contributed, I always enjoyed reading your trenchant posts. I always assumed you were Atticus through and through. Indeed, I recall playing matches at your house in the 1970s. As a matter of interest, why has your association with the club ended?

Good to hear from you, Nick. It's been a long time! Hope you are well. Strange how this congenial obsession of ours never releases its grip, even as the years roll by I am indeed Atticus through and through, as is John Carleton with whom I founded the club 39 years ago. Alas that club is no longer ours. We are now the 'Spirit of Atticus', happily active in the 4NCL and increasingly elsewhere. You'll excuse me, I hope, if I do not disfigure a thread dedicated to websites and congratulations to deserving people by raking over difficult disputes. In any event, this forum is the last place for that If you really want to know the story, set aside a week or so; book yourself into a Liverpool hotel; and we'll supply the rest. Though don't expect to have your faith in humanity either confirmed or restored

Otherwise - back on topic - Mike Truran is correct: for a club website, keep it busy with results, games, news - and if you like living dangerously, with trenchant comments too

Far be it from me to intrude on private grief!

Going back to your trenchant posts, what I liked on the Atticus forum was the sense of VISION. Perhaps this vision could be called elitist, but in the best sense of that word. I am old enough now not to take 'elitist' as a dirty word.

In other words: if chess is worth playing, it is worth playing well. Almost anyone can play chess badly. Potential sponsors are not interested in chess played badly. Also 'image' is important: snooker is not a game known for its intellectuals, but it cottoned on to the importance of image years ago. Chessplayers should not be expected to put up with appalling conditions.

All good websites should project a sense of vision.

[Mick Norris]

Chessplayers should not be expected to put up with appalling conditions.

But organisers that produce good conditions shouldn't have to put up with appalling chess players