New Website Information
Below is a compilation of general questions (FAQ) along with answers to aid athletes
and their families when development of an official website.
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OFFICIAL WEBSITE DESIGN
Ice-dance.com has been offering official website design, hosting and maintenance to national and international ice dance couples since 1999. Each website is designed to provide athletes with a unique and positive web presence for their partnership. Though most of the websites are designed and maintained by ice-dance.com, there are a few additional webmasters who create/maintain websites.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO HAVE A WEBSITE ON ICE-DANCE.COM?
Ice-dance.com only offers these services to intermediate, novice, junior and senior level couples as the project schedule allows. In the best interest of the athletes who currently have sites on ice-dance.com, we are now limiting the number of new projects accepted to allow staff to be able to give each website the appropriate attention it requires and deserves.
WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?
The right time to develop a web site varies for each team/athlete. Though a website is a good tool to promote a partnership, it is also a commitment for both athletes. Factors that many consider are listed below:
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Level of skating (Novice or junior level, although some partnerships are choosing to develop their site while they are at the intermediate level)
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Length of partnership (Partnerships of at least 1-2 years, although new teams at the senior level choose to develop their website soon after teaming up)
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Team success (Some couples wait until they have achieved a set level of success before putting together their website)
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
There are no set fees for websites designed, maintained and/or hosted by icedance.com, but contributions toward the hosting cost, time, etc. are appreciated.
If you are interested in purchasing a domain name (example: www.teamname.com), your website can still be hosted at ice-dance.com while the domain is set up to forward to your ice-dance.com address.
THE WEB DESIGN PROCESS
- Requested information and photos must be submitted before the design process can begin.
- The timeframe for the entire site to be completed is 3-6 weeks.
- In the first 2 weeks, a design template is created and sent to the athletes and/or families for approval. During this time, color schemes and photos can be changed before the design is finalized.
- Once the template is finalized, site creation is normally 2-3 weeks.
WEBSITE SECTIONS
The following are ideas for website sections that can be included:
- Profile/biography
- Programs music
- Schedule of upcoming events
- Competitive history
- News updates
- Journal/diary - Writing a journal or diary can keep friends, family and fans up-to-date on activities.
- Photographs - Including a variety of on and off ice photos is a good idea. Family and friends will be happy to see the new photos and fans will get a chance to see a bit of the team’s life beyond the blades.
- Guestbook/contact - This feature allows family members or fans to leave you a message of encouragement via a public guestbook or a private email address.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ICE-DANCE.COM:
- Competition results are normally updated within 1-2 days after the event has concluded (exceptions are US Nationals and Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships)
- General information such as coaching changes, bio updates, journals, etc. are normally updated within 2-3 days after being submitted to your webmaster.
- Photos are normally updated within 2-3 days after submitted. If you send on ice photos, we ask that you request and receive permission from the photographer prior to them being posted on the website.
WHAT ICE-DANCE.COM EXPECTS FROM YOU:
- A regular update once per month, whether it be new photos, news, a journal entry, etc. Updates in the off-season (April-July) are less frequent (every 6-8 weeks).
- If your partnership ends, we ask that you contact us in a timely manner. This allows us time to prepare a news message to be added to the web site and for the site to be taken down at a time that is appropriate (for the athlete, family and ice-dance.com).
TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A WEBSITE ON ICE-DANCE.COM:
Fill our our website application.
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