Web Teams - an update

Sadly, for a mix of personal reasons and technical issues beyond my control, I have decided to call it a day running WebTeams.co.uk.

WebTeams.co.uk has always been an extremely enjoyable activity alongside both my day-job and bringing up my two children. However, the last three or four days have been particularly hard trying to fix server problems beyond my control.

As part of my efforts to find a solution, I decided that the time has now come to pass it on to a team of full-time web developers who can take football-website provision to the next level. I have watched Pitchero.com grow over the last few years and am very happy to pass the baton onto them. They will work with WebTeams.co.uk users to transfer data to the Pitchero system.

This is not a decision I have taken lightly. I spoke to the lads at Pitchero and then travelled to Leeds to meet with them and visit their offices. I have been very impressed with their setup. Please be patient with them and give them a little time.

The official Pitchero statement will be posted to their blog:

- http://blog.pitchero.com/

Important: WebTeams.co.uk club Webmasters should click here to view support information and check the status of their website.

- http://www.pitchero.com/_services/webteams/

If you require support please use this email address: webteams@pitchero.com

Pitchero has a great deal of features that Web Teams does not have, such as forums, video and picture uploads, commenting, the ability to update on any web browser, Twitter integration, links to official leagues etc… Visiting their offices and seeing the enthusiasm and professionalism of their staff also convinced me of their ambition to keep improving.

So a final farewell from me. Having used Web Teams myself for Northern and Wearside league football when I played and as a team coach, I know how important your websites are. I’ve had very little sleep this week trying to make sure everyone is looked after. I am confident that you are migrating to a better system. It’s been an absolute pleasure to run Web Teams since 1999 and see the websites that you have created.

All the very best,

Stephen, Web Teams

What do you like best about Web Teams?

Currently Web Teams site administrators are feeding back to us through the end of year survey.

As always, we're amazed at some of the positive comments that come in - many thanks!

When asked "What do you like best about Web Teams?" you replied (selection of 25 of the comments below)...

• Its so easy to update everything from scores to player stats.
• Reliable service which is easy to use and fast to update.
• The range of statistics that are produced
• It's easy to use and looks good
• The lay out and the way its updated automatically
• The fact that the site automatically updates and you don't need to update player stats and league tables.
• I like all of the site that main reason ive used it for last 5 season even if weve changed our name due to sponsorship ive always continued to use it in new name.
• Just about everything, its a quality website. The stats obviously stand out and the ease of use
• Quickness of how everything is uploaded.
• GOOD FOR FOOTBALL
• The amount of information with all stats etc, makes for great viewing when looking at all the little details and stats. Fantasy points are also a very good feature, which we run an award for at our presentation evenings!
• The overall layout is easy to input information for me and for visitors to the site to read. this encourages repeat visits and recommendations to others.
• The clarity and array of information available to the user
• Defo the stats tracking for the goals and assissts.
• Those unforgettable last minute winners are now genuinely unforgettable.
• The immediate updating of stats once the input has been done.The website looks very professional and we have had many good comments.
• Very user friendly interface
• The support from Webteams with any problems. Great value for money and no advertisements flashing all over the place.
• its very easy to use and it is linked to Facebook which helps get the info across to the team and fans.
• Simplicity of the website but the detail behind that.
• It gives you everything you need for a football teams website!
• professional layout of the site. makes us look better than we are!
• Simplicity to use and quickness of navigation
• Prompt response when contacting about an issue.
• Easy to input information. The site always looks neat and clean and uncluttered
• Simplicity of use which can generate so many useful stats.

Many thanks for all of the positive comments, we'll also look at doing some enhancements based around the handful of frustrations. But please keep on spreading the word about Web Teams and help us to continue to build the community!

Web Teams a Top 10 UK site

Web Teams won a top 10 Experian Hitwise Award last week.

Great to see Web Teams name in the list for the Computers and Internet - Hosting and Domain Registration industry. Especially alongside such well respected names such as fasthosts.co.uk and uk2.net.

http://www.hitwise.com/uk/2010-annual-awards

A Picture Says A Thousand Words

Small tweak to the homepage now so that your large team picture is now shown. Over the years people's screens have became bigger and Internet connections have become faster. So now your Web Teams site looks even better, more crisp, more professional and 100% yours without any horrible adverts.

All Around The World

Great to see so many non-UK football teams using Web Teams for their websites. A selection below...

• Panthers FC - Dubai
• Block 8 Superstars - South Africa
• Nieuw Woensel 5 - The Netherlands
• Amagents FC - Botswana
• Forbidden City FC - China
• Lobsterpot FC - Bermuda

Congratulations to Tipton Town FC

A massive congratulations to Tipton Town who have reached the first round of the FA Cup!!!

Tipton Town have used Web Teams for the last five years or so.

- webteams.co.uk/tiptontownfc

Hopefully all Web Teams fans will be supporting Tipton over Carlisle Utd on Saturday 6th November:

- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/fixtures/default.stm

Do People Like Your Site?

The home page, news page, match report pages and squad pages now have "Facebook Like" buttons on.

This has the big advantage of getting your visitors to promote your website and your news stories to their friends. In turn, this will drive them to your site and have more people finding out about your club.

Facebook now has 25 million users in the UK. So this seems a very good way of getting others to help promote your club.

Update (16/09)

Once you click like you can then add a comment and share the link on your profile as shown in pics below. The "like" button is Facebook's new way of doing what used to be called "share".

Like and share the page

Your friends will see it and add comments

Upcoming fixtures

Occasionally we get email suggestions that are nice little ideas from users of the service. Ian Brown from Pannal Sports emailed in suggestion that if there is a not a "next match report" then we should encourage the visitor to go to the fixtures page. So it's been done.

Before

After

Takes you to the fixtures page

See Who Subscribes To Your News Stories

Just made a small change to the site on request of Stephen from Real Athletic. Webmasters can now go to their "Edit Your Club's Details" page and see who subscribes to news stories from their site.

The screenshot below demonstrates this:

Web Teams and Twitter and Facebook

Browsing through the fantastic Web Teams sites that you set up, the trend of using Twitter.com or Facebook.com to complement Web Teams is growing. A couple of examples of this are given below:

1. Twitter

Tipton Town FC have a twitter feed giving teaser information for every Web Teams story. So they enter a story or match report in Web Teams, then they "tweet" this news. Their 100+ followers are informed that the news is live and then can go and read the story and look at the latest league table and statistics.

Web Teams is used for the official site with the best statistics and charts - but Twitter is used as an essential media promoting the latest news.

2. Facebook

If you want loads of photos and loads of informal banter back and forward between the players, then the place to do this a Facebook page for your site. Within Facebook, making this private to those in your club is just a setting to apply to the site.

Web Teams works in parallel with this as the official face of your club. Your Facebook club site is there for all of the daft stuff. Web Teams is there for the formal news items, the official league table and goal scorers stats etc...

This is demonstrated really well with the Morley Town Sunday club Facebook site:

The Front Page News Ticker

In our end of season survey you said you wanted a News Ticker on your front page.

• "Bring back the scrolling news ticker!"
• "Have a rolling banner on home page with news"

You'll notice now there is one on your home page...

Fig 1 - The news ticker is now displayed on your home page

Fig 2. Click on a story or a match report for further information

Greatest World Cup Football Songs

World Cup 1982


World Cup 1990


World Cup 1998

The World Cup Wheel and Funny Football Quotes

Forget your World Cup Wall Chart - Check out the World Cup Wheel...

http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

Also, funny things footballers say...

My parents have always been there for me, ever since I was about 7. "
David Beckham

"I would not be bothered if we lost every game as long as we won the
league."
Mark Viduka

"Alex Ferguson is the best manager I've ever had at this level. Well,
he's the only manager I've actually had at this level. But he's the best
manager I've ever had."
David Beckham

"If you don't believe you can win, there is no point in getting out of
bed at the end of the day."
Neville Southall

"I've had 14 bookings this season - 8 of which were my fault, but 7 of
which were disputable."
Paul Gascoigne

"I've never wanted to leave. I'm here for the rest of my life, and
hopefully after that as well."
Alan Shearer

"I'd like to play for an Italian club, like Barcelona "
Mark Draper

"You've got to believe that you're going to win, and I believe we'll win
the World Cup until the final whistle blows and we're knocked out."
Peter Shilton

"I faxed a transfer request to the club at the beginning of the week,
but let me state that I don't want to leave Leicester "
Stan Collymore

"I was watching the Blackburn game on TV on Sunday when it flashed on
the screen that George (Ndah) had scored in the first minute at
Birmingham . My first reaction was to ring him up. Then I remembered he
was out there playing."
Ade Akinbiyi

"Without being too harsh on David Beckham, he cost us the match."
Ian Wright

"I'm as happy as I can be - but I have been happier."
Ugo Ehiogu

" Leeds is a great club and it's been my home for years, even though I
live in Middlesborough."
Jonathan Woodgate

"I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel."
Stuart Pearce

"I took a whack on my left ankle, but something told me it was my
right."
Lee Hendrie

"I couldn't settle in Italy - it was like living in a foreign country."
Ian Rush

" Germany are a very difficult team to play...they had 11 internationals
out there today."
Steve Lomas

"I always used to put my right boot on first, and then obviously my
right sock."
Barry Venison

"I definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what
religion yet."
David Beckham

"The Brazilians were South American, and the Ukrainians will be more
European."
Phil Neville

"All that remains is for a few dots and commas to be crossed."
Mitchell Thomas

"One accusation you can't throw at me is that I've always done my best."
Alan Shearer

"I'd rather play in front of a full house than an empty crowd."
Johnny Giles

"Sometimes in football you have to score goals."
Thierry Henry

Top 50 World Cup Goals Ever

Not long to go now to the World Cup. Found this video on YouTube. Make yourself a cup of tea or open a bottle of lager and sit back and watch the top 50 world cup goals ever to get you in the mood!

Archive your site ready for next season

Now that the 2009/10 season is coming to an end you can now archive your site and get ready to start the 2010/11 season.

Details on how to do this are outlined at the blog post below:
http://webteams.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-archive-your-site.html

This is a chance to freshen up your site, put up news about summer events and permanently remove any players who may not be with your team anymore.

Thanks for the great comments!

Looking through the results of our user survey, when asked what you like best about Web Teams you gave some great replies. A selection of them are below:

What do you like best about Web Teams?

• "The fact you can archive the site and look back on stats from previous seasons is very handy. Keeps the memories online and alive."


• "The ease of using and updating the website and the way the statistics are displayed make it very enjoyable to use. Also the fantasy stats give players an added incentive and provide great banter in the changing room."


• "The instant generation of stats that would take ages for me to work out myself. They are priceless for my match previews on my website."


• "So easy to use, and it creates a professional detailed site with mimimum web knowledge needed on my part."


• "Easy to use and maintain, no adverts, no clutter which is great."


• "How factual it is and how flexible it is to use. The lads love keeping tabs on my updates."


• "The professionalism, its run very well, plus the price is good value. plus the appearance, plus the fact that thier are no adverts plus the fact all the tables etc are automatically updated"


• "The way with minimum effort I can create a professional looking website that also serves as an essential tool for the Manager in terms of statistics."


• "Fantastic service that the players all look forward to reading every week. Fantasy Statistics and match reports are the favourites."


• "Don't have a favorite part as think the whole site is excellent."


• "It's easy to use and does exactly what you want which is information for the lads and stats plus i can do stupid write ups for them to read too."


• "The whole service has added an extra edge to the club as a whole. its not just about a sunday anymore, bagot can be 'looked at' within a click of a button 24/7"


• "A fantastic service, which we have never used before until now, very informative and easy to use. We will be renewing our subscription every year!"

And when we asked, how likely would you be to recommend WebTeams to a friend, where 1 is not very likely and 10 was very likely - the average mark was 9.4!!!

So thanks once again for the great feedback.

We did of course ask what we need to better and what you two things you disliked most. The answers to these questions will form the basis of the enhancements we will make to the site over the next few months.

I'll post on the blog about this "hit list of improvements" in a week or two.

Please complete our Customer Survey 2010

Every April we ask those with Web Teams sites for their feedback.

This feedback shapes how we enhance the Web Teams service and is extremely valuable.

To take part in the 2010 survey please logon into your site admin area and click on the main news item at the top of the page.

In the 2009 survey you told us you wanted:

• More space for your reports and match reports
  
• A simpler format for the league table
  
• An "opt out" of the fantasty stats
  
• The ability to hide players who leave your club through the season
  
• The ability to add pictures of the manager, tea lady, programme seller
  
• To be able to change the order of the site links

So we did all of the items above.

We wait now to see what your feedback will be this year. Stay tuned to this blog to find out.

Stats from Previous Seasons

WebTeams user Ben emailed in asking if it's possible for player stats from previous seasons to be added to a WebTeams site.

At a basic level it is possible to add any additional information to a player in the description field.

However, once you use WebTeams for a second season you'll notice that the stats from the previous seasons are not lost - but your site gets richer in terms of data each season.

The screenshot below shows a player profile page showing stats from this season and the previous season.

Web Teams into its Third Decade!

Happy New Year to everyone.

We are very proud to now take Web Teams into its third decade.

We started in the "90's", grew through the "noughties" and are now happy to look forward to the "tens" (or "teenies"?).


Web Teams trial site in 1999.

Web Teams looking great on your Mobile

I've been playing about on my Ipod Touch looking at Web Teams and have made a few adjustments to the low graphics page.

The font size is now bigger so it is more readable in both portrait and landscape mode...





Of course, the normal site is fine when you zoom in and out in normal mode on an Iphone/Ipod too...