How To Create a Free Website For a Sports Team?
Sports connects people from all walks of life, allowing diverse groups to bond over their common love for the game. It doesn’t matter if you’re a player or a fan, belonging to a sports club or the spectator’s box- sports appeals to everyone.
Now, imagine if you could turn this passion into something more sustainable and rewarding, by creating a sports website. Whether it’s a sports news website, a sports blog, or a sports goods e-store – it could be a success, with your passion and drive.
A sports website, unlike a regular one, caters to one game or team. It is a platform where you can get regular updates about the upcoming games, contact the team management and purchase sports goods. Here are some of the best tips to create a free website for the sports team.
Choose the Name for your Sport Website
First and foremost, you need to find an appropriate name for your website. Ensure that the name of your website is relevant to the theme and purpose. Include the sports name in the name of the website. However, note that the law of some states prohibits you from using the name of a particular team or team player for the website. As a beginner, we recommend you choose a unique, easy to remember, and safe name.
Next up, let’s see how you can build a sports website from scratch, without investing a lot of time or money.
Method #1 – Leverage a Dedicated Sports team Website Builder
Dedicated sports website builders don’t just help you design the interface but also market your services and generate more leads as you grow. Some of the most coveted dedicated sports website builders are:
Perfect to build a mobile friendly sports website for teams and clubs, with advanced options such as event scheduling and reminders, email and text notifications, dedicated Android and iOS mobile apps. The free plan is ad-supported, supports up to 4 pages, and lets you upload 50 images.
Sitebuilder, powered by SportsEngine
A fully drag and drop powered website builder interface, loaded with responsive sports themes, and all the plugins and widgets you could need for a sports website. You get a powerful SportsEngine mobile app to manage team events, connect with sportspersons, and make roster changes.
Also check out TeamSnap, NING, PlayPass, and League Lineup – all make it to any list of best free website builders for sports websites.
Method #2 – Use a user-friendly website builder with its dedicated sports themes
Dedicated sports website builders are not as easy to use as the market leaders. Some market leaders, which make the cut here, are:
Wix is currently one of the best website building platforms you can get your hands on. For starters, this WYSIWYG platform is free, secondly, it comes with a unique ADI (artificial design intelligence framework) and finally, you get e-commerce support and a host of other features.
Wix offers you Plus, you get over 500 readymade designs to choose from, out of which you can easily find 20-30 templates within the ‘sports and recreation’ category. This, along with a live editor allow, means that you can trust Wix to make real-time changes to the content, and make your sports website live in few minutes.
Wix lets you create statistical tables and leaderboards for displaying the match details and keep track of player rankings. From creating a logo and adding blog posts about the match schedules to inserting multimedia like player interviews, clippings from the match and live streaming- Wix supports all.
Weebly offers you several responsive themes that can fit into categories like ‘adventure and outdoors’ and ‘sports clubs’. Though you will need a lot of customization to transform these multi-purpose themes into dedicated sports websites (using stock photography, team logos, sports content, etc), it’s worth the effort, because of Weebly’s ease of use.
The drag and drop interface is effective and time-saving. All your elements are customizable, compatible with mobile devices. The App Centre gives you a list of advanced apps and software options. The email marketing options like MailChimp integration is also very useful in building an impressive user-base and reaching out to more fans across the world.
With Weebly, you can create sporting events, manage match schedules with a built-in calendar, set-up a sports store and even stream live games for fans across the world. Furthermore, the App Centre gives you access to a range of software and applications for creating forms, adding contact details, newsletter options, and e-commerce functionalities. You can create a sports store offering sports equipment, jerseys, autographed goodies and other sports items that would interest collectors.
Method #3 – Build a Sports Network using WordPress
WordPress powers over 40% of the websites on the internet and is a suitable choice for beginners. The open-source platform comes with a wide range of customizations. The WYSIWYG editor makes it easy to add and update content and multimedia.
WordPress’ wide range of sports themes and templates will get your website off the ground in no time. You can also access the extensive archives for sports-related images or video content. The third-party plugins allow you to integrate analytic tools, navigational support, and newsletter options for expanding your sports website’s reach.
SportsPress plugin by WordPress lets you create dedicated pages for displaying player’s profiles and update them throughout the season. Some of the best sports-themed layouts on WordPress are Big Slam, Real Soccer, Splash, WP Soccer, Oxigeno, Sporty, and Kickoff etc. These themes let you provide detailed statistical reports on the game, create forums to discuss the details of the matches, and even stream live content for fans across the world.
How to Make Your Sports Website More Popular?
Simply designing a sports website is not enough, you also need to promote it to get more visitors and generate more traffic. Usually, the SEO ranking of the page determines the performance and range it achieves. Most website builders we have discussed above come with in-built SEO support.
Other promotional strategies include adding CTA buttons, newsletter options and testimonials to your page so as to attract more people. You can also provide offers, discounts, and coupons to new customers for more sales.
Affiliate marketing opens up new avenues for your enterprise, helping you build more contacts and earn more revenue. Depending on the theme of your sports website, you can add links about sports equipment, memorabilia, posters, autographed jerseys and even game tickets among other things.
More Tips and Tricks to Build a Successful Sports Website
Building a sports website requires meticulous planning and technical expertise. Here are a few simple yet effective tips for newcomers to get started and build a sports platform from scratch;
- Focus on branding: Create a distinct logo for your website, you can use the team colors or symbols from the game you’re representing.
- Add loads of images and video content: It not only enhances the visibility but makes your content very engaging and easy to watch. We recommend up-close shots of the game from multiple angles, short clippings, interviews, and other trivia.
- Include a Team Rooster Section for adding regular updates about the game
- Have a calendar and an events manager to keep track of the many matches and other sports events.
- Activate email and text notifications to update subscribers of new posts, upcoming games, etc.
- Have leaderboards and polls to monitor and display the top players in the game. There are numerous plug-ins that will help you with the same.
- Link and share your content on social media for a wider reach
Sports, adventure, and fitness website builders enable you to create websites that can promote sports and connect fans globally. For many, a sports website is the ideal way to promote the club activities and get more volunteers and sponsors. Use the methods and tips shared in this guide to build your very own sports website.
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