Leicester Tigers, England’s most successful rugby club, sought a partner to help redefine and rebuild their digital platform. The goal of the project was to design and build a new responsive website that would be the benchmark for other Premiership Rugby Club websites. Key goals for the project were to emphasise the premium brand nature of Leicester Tigers, whilst giving visitors and fans a user experience that encourages repeat visits, engagement and ultimately ticket purchases.

Team talks

Many sports websites lag in design, user experience and functionality. Clock’s vision for the new Tigers site was cutting-edge. Designed for the fans and with help from the fans, our aim was to find the sweet spot between both user and business goals.  

Our first step was listening to what the fans, and the Tigers team themselves, wanted from the new site. We conducted surveys, attended match days to speak to fans directly and had open forum discussions. Design workshops and discovery sessions with Tigers then helped to establish and reflect their internal image outwards through their site. And we also established what Tigers’ new editorial strategy was. Our aim was to add new mechanics to the site that allow the team to showcase more of the fantastic content that they upload daily and therefore give fans the best possible experience.

A design for rugby life

The Tigers team gave the brand a small refresh whilst we worked on a new digital vision. We created a homepage that gives fans everything they need at first glance, from the latest news, current campaign information, league standing, fixtures and of course, the opportunity to purchase tickets.

Our design team then leveraged the strength Tiger’s photography by opting for a portrait representation of imagery. Where most websites will use landscape images, this unorthodox approach really helps to emphasise the action shots and gameplay footage synonymous with the game of rugby.

The burgeoning numbers of mobile visitors will now also see a premiership winning responsive site! Clear signposting and presentation of content, easy orientation and content discoverability, coupled with fast page load speeds - all enhance the experience for fans on the go.

MX - Matchday experience

Competing with the BBC and other local and national media for share of voice is one of the biggest challenges for any rugby club, particularly when it comes to match day. A very large aspect of the new site redesign is that there are now two experiences for fans: match day and non-match day. On any given day, the new site impactfully highlights the most prevalent news and content, with rich imagery and design that allows the PR team to fully maximise their content. It is however on match days that the experience changes altogether.

Thanks to the cutting-edge Content Management System that we built, the Tigers team have the ability to metamorphosize the homepage into the most comprehensive, must-read feed for all things Leicester Tigers, outweighing the coverage provided by other media outlets. Content injected from social media, feeds from OPTA and Premiership Rugby, including squad info, match stats, historical data and much more can be interspersed with content from Tigers to ensure that on match days, fans need only one destination: www.leicestertigers.com. So whether they are attending the match in person and viewing on a mobile or if they are at home, following the game on their desktop, they will have the most comprehensive information available to them.

A results business

The new platform supports the Tigers digital strategy in many ways, from facilitating the workflows of content editors updating the website daily to enhancing the fan experience. The site has launched early so that it is ready for the new season. As Tigers launch a new assault on the Premiership, we are looking forward to working closely with the team to enhance and optimise the site throughout the season to achieve their KPIs. First results have been overwhelming. An initial survey (117 respondents) after launch, saw users give the new site an average score of 8.9/10! It’s not just sport that is a results driven business, the new website has to deliver too.

We are extremely proud of the website and It’s a tremendous achievement to all involved to have been selected as a Silver winner for the 2017 W3 Awards.

Take a look around: www.leicestertigers.co.uk‍