A week ago the PrestoSports staff was burning the midnight oil in preparation for a number of site launches.

In addition to the continuous communication our staff has with the client during the development of their new website, before it goes live our staff does a final check of every site that gets launched.

Every link gets clicked.
Every browser gets checked.
Every pixel gets scrutinized.

And not just on the home page. We try to simulate how a fan would browse your site. Three, four, five levels deep.

Why? Because we believe that the first impression of a new website is important to building a fan base. To keep them coming back. In addition, the time and effort that you've put in to transitioning to PrestoSports is worth a polished product.

Certainly content will get added post-launch and some things get missed, but we believe it's reasonable for the fan to expect three simple things on launch.

1. The links should work

Example of PrestoSports Coming Soon page

The site can be visually interesting, but if I go to click that graphically designed button and nothing happens I'm not likely to click again. It's reasonable to assume that if you spend the time to include it in your site, the link should go somewhere.

When the content isn't ready for that section yet, we work with you to add a "coming soon" page. The fan can appreciate that the content they are looking for is being worked on and they can check back soon. More importantly, the fan knows that its not a mistake that the link they just click reloaded the page rather than showing them the calendar.


2. The pages should have content

Screenshot from another provider

Your fans are interested in your athletics program for a number of reasons and may be looking for information outside of the upcoming football season or the spring softball results. That is why we make sure that every sport page has a full complement of stories and content so that the look the fan sees matches the design.

Lack of content implies that a sport isn't as important as others. An impression that will resonate with your fans. In addition, dead space where content will go can really take a well designed site and make it distracting and unappealing.

3. The site should look good in all browsers

Screenshot from another provider in IE6.

Not everyone downloads the latest version of their preferred browser when prompted so the site should look just as good in an old version of Internet Explorer or on an iPad as it does in Chrome or Firefox.

We check to make sure your site looks and functions the same across all major browsers and devices. And while it takes extra effort, we want to make sure the 5-10% of your visitors who still use IE6 can get the same experience.

In addition to these three steps, we rely on the hard work and creativity of our clients to help launch a quality product. At PrestoSports we believe that we are partners with the member institutions who have entrusted us to assist them with their web presence. Together, we strive to make those sites look good from the moment they launch.