We launched a new sports Web site at the Tulsa World recently (www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra). We didn’t reinvent the wheel, but we did achieve a
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| Mike Strain |
couple of things:
1) The site produced meaningful advertising revenue at launch and has the potential to produce a lot more.
2) We have a site that’s far better than our last one, and it’s more comprehensive than any sports site in our market.
Hopefully, there’s something from my experience that you might find useful if you ever have a similar endeavor. I’d like to pass along a few things I learned in the roughly six months it took to launch the site:
■ I don’t want to bog this down with too many details, but if you want information about the project, please feel free to e-mail me (mike.strain@tulsaworld.com). In short, lots of planning, lots of meetings, lots of deadlines. What I learned: Launching this site wasn’t so different than producing a special section or special project for print. The fundamentals were the same.
■ Collaboration between the sports department and Web staff was critical. Our Web editor is Jason Collington. He’s a huge sports fan, and is ambitious – a great combination for this project. What I learned: I wouldn’t want to try a project like this without having a Web staff that was so committed. They devoted time, energy and resources. (Side note: Web programming was far more complex and time consuming than I ever realized.)
■ My goal for designing the site: Clean and easy to navigate. I thought that would be easy. But after about half-a-dozen meetings and three redesigns, I discovered it wasn’t easy. Eventually, I think we accomplished what I hoped we would. Our Web site has hundreds of pages, and I can find my way around. And if I can do it, I’m confident our readers can. What I learned: A vertical strip down the side of pages – whether in print or online – is really user friendly for guiding people through a section or Web site. I think that’s why so many people use them.
■ Coordination with advertising seemed to help. Collington is our liaison with advertising for Web sales. Once we had a template of the site, Collington and I met with the advertising department. I spoke for a few minutes to a room full of advertising sales reps. Collington had a power point presentation with lots of details about the site and advertising opportunities. What I learned: I have worked with advertising on quite a few projects, and it always seems to be productive. I think it was for this project, too.
When we launched the site, I asked readers for feedback. We got some good suggestions on the first day and immediately made some minor but needed changes. Thankfully, we have had quite a bit of positive response.
I’d also encourage you to check out our site (www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra). If you have any suggestions – things that have worked for you or things that could be improved on our site – I’d love to hear them. And, as mentioned above, if you would like any details about this, I’d be glad to share them.
