St Bedes/Mentone Tigers has kicked off 2017 with a major revamp of its website, www.stbedesmentonetigers.com.au.
In addition to regular news articles, events, sponsors, contacts and online store, the new website integrates with the Club’s YouTube channel and provides for the automated publishing of articles to Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, the website is ‘fully responsive’ meaning it looks great on all devices including laptops, tablets and smartphones.
The new website replaces the original website which was developed in 2001 by then Club President, Dale Collins (pictured left). The original site was based on Microsoft FrontPage web technology and used Microsoft Access databases ‘under the hood’. This enabled the online storage of information such as game and player records, as well as photos online, and made them available to the Club members. Not knowing anything about websites at the time, Dale purchased a beginner’s book titled ‘FrontPage for Idiots”, put himself through database training and went from there! Over the years, the site developed into a complex data management system which housed much of the Club’s past and recent history.
Mick Atherton (pictured right) joined the development team and added an improved security base, developed the online store ‘TigerMart’ and, with Dale, maintained the site day to day. Both Dale and Mick wrote many of the stories that appeared over the years. Interestingly, the site has been regularly accessed from all over the world by past players, supporters and those who wonder exactly who we are and what we do. It has become the corner stone for recording the history of our Club as well as the platform for communication to our members.
In mid-2015 and with support for the existing technologies dwindling, Dale and Mick started looking for a replacement solution and, after reviewing a number of offerings, ultimately took a ‘build it ourselves’ approach. As Dale had done some fifteen years earlier, Mick threw himself into acquiring the necessary skills and steadily built the new website we have today. When asked about the new website Mick advised, “This is just the start. We have a great new base from which to evolve our online presence. Our roadmap of new features is exciting and I look forward to bringing it to life”.
The Club wishes to express its sincere thanks to Life Members Dale Collins and Mick Atherton for their tireless and often ‘behind the scenes’ dedication to the Club.