We look at a lot of club websites. The same problems appear again and again, and most of them cost the club something real: a visitor who never came, a function that got booked elsewhere, a would-be member who gave up looking for the join button. Here are the seven we see most, with the fix for each.
1. The events page is frozen in time
An events page showing last year's Christmas party is worse than no events page: it tells visitors the club might not even be active. Fix: only publish what you will maintain, and make updating so easy a volunteer does it in two minutes from their phone.
2. It is still "just another club site"
Template sites with the default tagline still showing say one thing: nobody is home. Your club has personality, greens, sunsets and characters. The website should look like your club, not like the same template as three hundred others. Fix: real photos, your colours, your voice.
3. There is no obvious way to join
On many club sites, membership information is a PDF three clicks deep. Becoming a member is the single most valuable action a visitor can take, and it should be one click from anywhere: a clear "Become a member" button in the menu, leading to a page that answers cost, what is included and how to sign up.
4. Functions and venue hire are buried
For most clubs, functions are serious revenue, and the people searching "venue hire near me" have money in hand. If your function room is a single paragraph on the About page, you are handing those bookings to the pub down the road. Fix: a dedicated page with photos, capacity, pricing guidance and an enquiry form.
5. It falls apart on a phone
Most visits to club websites happen on mobile: someone in the car park checking opening hours, a visitor looking up the dress code. Tiny text and menus that do not work on a phone turn those people away at the door. Fix: mobile is the version to design first, not an afterthought.
6. Only one person can update it
Every club has the story: the website was managed by one member, they moved on, and nobody has the password. Fix: the club owns the domain, the hosting and the logins, documented in the committee records, and more than one person knows how to edit content.
7. Stock photos instead of the actual club
Generic smiling models tell visitors nothing. Your best marketing asset is Saturday afternoon on the green: real members, real atmosphere. Fix: one afternoon with a decent camera provides a year of photos, and the difference on the website is immediate.
Recognise your club in three or more of these? That is exactly what our free assessment is for: we go through your website like a first-time visitor would, list what is costing you, and give the committee a clear plan to fix it.