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Content & Document System for Gloucestershire RFU
With the RFU's Rugby First website system closing, the Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union needed to source a new independent website to continue to communicate vital information to its members.
Evergreen Challenge
To provide a more professional, corporate looking website with improved navigation and an easy to use content managed system
Evergreen Solution
Evergreen created...
- A website and CMS with GRFU corporate colours and logos to enhance the GRFU brand
- Clearer menus and visual signposts for better navigation and improved visitor experience
- A Content Management System with easy-to-use editing tools
With Evergreen's technical expertise, the GRFU now has a site that is visible in all web browsers, easier to navigate and has more than halved the time spent on administrative tasks.
Full Case Study
The Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union (GRFU) is a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and represents 80 clubs and 128 schools in the county. It provides a structure for the organisation and playing of rugby football in Gloucestershire, meeting the needs of the member clubs and providing support for the development of the game. It also provides a link between the RFU and the member clubs.
Until 2013, GRFU had been using the Rugby First website system, which is an internet-based tool to help run rugby on all levels. When Rugby First announced that the system would be closing, GRFU had to source an independent website. There were various people in the GRFU who had web development contacts and a few quotes were obtained but a GRFU committee member had seen the work that Evergreen had completed for local Dursley Rugby Football Club (DRFC) and suggested that Evergreen's experience in having already developed a rugby club website could be beneficial to the GRFU.
Excellent understanding with a personal and professional approach.
Tricia Perris, County Administrator for the GFRU was impressed with Gloucestershire based web development specialists, Evergreen from the outset. ''Evergreen were friendly and welcoming and it was clear that they understood the world of rugby and the specific rugby side of the website requirement.'' The fact that they were a local Gloucestershire-based company, that they had already developed a website for Dursley RFC and that they were a team of web developers rather than just a one-man operation were also important factors that led GRFU to entrust Evergreen with the development of the new GRFU website. As Tricia confirms, ''Evergreen's approach was personal and professional. They came across as a very professional outfit. They explained things clearly, were on our doorstep and had relevant experience in developing a rugby website.''
A website with improved navigation, easy-to-use editing tools and a better overall look and feel that truly represented Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union as a brand were the key challenges that were presented to Evergreen. The website is a major communication tool for the GRFU and is used by people of all ages and so it had to be easy to use for those people who are not overly familiar with technology. It had to be obvious from the homepage where you needed to click to in order to get to the information required. Evergreen included the GRFU corporate colours and logos in the design to enhance the GRFU brand and with fine tuning, the website now has clearer menus and easier navigation. Tricia Perris and the GRFU committee now have a website to be proud of as she confirms, ''Before it just looked like any other website but now it has a corporate appearance and professional look.''
Uploading is now just a couple of clicks away.
So how are things different now the work has been done? Firstly, the website can now be easily visited across a range of web browsers as previously it could only be viewed using Internet Explorer which was frustrating for many members. The old website content-managed system was also difficult to use with several levels of access control which often inhibited the simple editing tasks of the administrator. Now that Evergreen have completed the work, Tricia describes the situation as being 'Infinitely different' as there are now two other people that can use the content-managed system so the workload is more easily shared and time is saved as the CMS is so much easier to use. Tricia explains,''Uploading is now a couple of clicks away whereas with the old CMS I used to have to psych myself up for a whole day of uploading.''
A first class immediate response and excellent guidance.
So what has it been like working with Evergreen? Tricia admits that they completely rely on Evergreen's technical expertise and are always confident in Evergreen's ability to solve any technical problems. ‘’When you work with Evergreen you get a first class immediate response and excellent guidance on areas that you don't understand. I'd give Evergreen a 10 out of 10 for their ongoing support.''
The new GRFU website is certainly a much better website to use from the point of view of the administrators but what do visitors to the website think of it? Tricia advises that whilst she has recently solicited feedback from the members, asking them to report if they had any difficulties navigating the site or if there is anything that needed to be done to make it more user-friendly, she has only heard back from one person requesting a slight colour change on the top menu for clarity and an explanation of the menu set up.“Hopefully this means our clubs are finding the new site easy to navigate and finding the information they are looking for quickly.”
Tricia Perris concludes that she would certainly recommend Evergreen to other businesses and organisations and especially to those looking for a new rugby club website “The comprehensive and friendly guidance, given to Gloucestershire RFU by Evergreen, has enabled us to produce a professional and ‘user friendly’ website with a far better corporate image. It has enhanced our channels of communication by being clear, straightforward and easy to administer.”
