Some things should be out in plain sight so your website users don’t have to hunt for them!

Make sure your meeting time and place are prominently displayed near the top of the home page. Don’t bury it on another page. FreeToastHost does provide a default page called “Meeting Information/Directions,” but you can use this for more detailed directions and a map.

This has just the right kind and amount of information. A “Goldilocks” home page! (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

The same can be said for contact information. Go ahead and use the default “Contact Us” page, but put something on the home page.

 

Indicate your club is active. Just one line saying “Our next meeting is January 3rd” is sufficient. Use a different size or color to make it stand out. Be very sure that you update this regularly.

Write a 2-3 sentence paragraph about your club — what do you offer to people? Why should they come to your club? Consider that the user may be looking at the websites of 5 or 6 Toastmasters clubs! How will yours stand out?

One way you can stand out is with a picture of your club members. If you don’t have a good one, take one at the next meeting! By “good,” I mean well lit and in focus. This shows your potential guests aspects of your club like the diversity in age and race, how you dress at meetings, and what friendly personalities you have. They’ll know they will feel at home at your club.

Show your real club members if possible!

What should probably not be on your home page at all is that hugely annoying moving bar at the top. In the admin console dropdown menu, select “Floater Messages” to get rid of it.

Now, how does your home page stack up to other clubs? Go to the D25 Find a Club page. See the club listings with the new logo out to the right? Those clubs have rebranded their websites. Click on the silver globe icon to see how well their websites meet these criteria, and maybe get a good idea for yours!

If you have questions or want feedback about your site, email me at JodieSanders@d25toastmasters.org.

Jodie Sanders

District News Editor