Rock & Gem Club Website Tips

Home \ Rock & Gem Club Website Tips

I just finished visiting almost 500 US gem, mineral, fossil and lapidary websites to create a comprehensive list of clubs and pull together as much information as possible. If you haven't had the chance to review the fruits of my labor, take a minute and check out the Club Directory — it's pretty cool to see all of the club logos on one page.

However, while doing this, something else became apparent. Someone needed to be the bearer of bad news and let you know that it isn't 1995 anymore and your website needs to be updated.

After looking for club information on roughly 500 club sites, I started to notice trends and started to make a list. Before I get into my observations and recommendations, I'd like to point out that I have built Geology365.com to allow your club an easy-to-use interface for hosting and managing your club website. Learn about the tools available →

Who is Your Site For?

As you build your website, keep in mind who your site is for. Is it to help new members find your club or for existing members to get information about club dealings? Most likely, it is a combination of both. With that in mind, a prospective member may not be as willing to click around to find information on the club.

Your home page should be dedicated to answering Who, What, Where, and When so that visitors can quickly find out if your club is right for them.

Who

I think every site clearly answered this, so… good job!

What

What is your club into? Minerals? Fossils? Gems? Lapidary? All of the above? Or perhaps just a social club? Make it clear for those who find your site what your club's interests are.

Where

Many sites write things like, “At the lodge next to ____”. Instead, write out the full address, city, state, and zip so visitors can click and launch their GPS app.

When

Most of the sites I visited had this answered. Good job here too!

Current members will likely be more willing to click around for information they already know is there, so additional resources (educational links, meeting minutes, etc.) can be a little more “buried” in the site.

Outdated Content

If you want to use your website to keep club members and the public apprised of your activities, try to stick with it, or at least clear content that is no longer relevant. I saw numerous sites touting an upcoming trip in April 2012… (Note: This article was written in 2020.)

  • Newsletters: Posting newsletters online is a great practice! Keep them current. Search engines reward new and original content, and they index information in PDF files as well.
  • External links: Check links to resources beyond your control from time to time. Search engines penalize dead links found on your site.
  • Open in new windows: When linking to external sites or PDFs, add target="_blank" so visitors aren't forced to leave your site prematurely.

Aesthetics

Do not use dark text on a dark background. Not only is this difficult to read, but search engines actually penalize you for doing this (they think you are trying to hide keywords on your site to maliciously attract traffic).

  • No flashing images or text
  • No scrolling text

What Else?

These don't really have to do with the look and feel of the site — rather, they are recommendations from my experience.

  • Avoid personal email addresses for club officers. When a president steps down, that personal email is all over the internet tied to the position. Use a club domain email instead (e.g. president@rockclub.com) and update the forwarding when officers change.
  • Email groups: Services like Gmail allow you to create email groups. Assign addresses to these groups so you can change the underlying account when leadership changes without updating the public-facing address.

Let Geology365 Handle It

If you want to remove the confusion of updating your website on your own, we'd love to help. Email ryan@geology365.com with any questions about managing your club website — or any tech-related questions you may have.

Explore Club Management Tools