How to Build an FRC Team Website

I have volunteered to evaluate websites for the FIRST Robotics competition, since one of my daughters is in Team 3322. From reading the websites of a number of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team websites, I see many of them are missing out on some very basic points. So I thought I would write down some thoughts.

Here is a website received the highest scores among the 11 sites I evaluated: http://www.team2834.com/. Take a look and you will see the points I am going to make below.

1. Promote FIRST RoboticsIt makes sense, doesn't it? Your team is part of the FIRST community made up by thousands of teams, and the FIRST community needs your team just like others to grow bigger and stronger. So promote the concept behind the FIRST competition to every one of the visitors to your site: Put the FIRST logo where your visitors see when they first come on to the site; Tell them about the game(s) of competition this year; Tell them more about the different programs FIRST has; What is FLL, FTC and FRC, etc. Materials are there on the FIRST website. You are not to copy and paste, but it is not hard to tell the story of FIRST once you learn what the community and programs have to offer.
2. Team BuildingYour team may be a rookie or a veteran. But your team and team members have their own stories. Tell them on the site. Tell your visitors who you are: Name and number of the team, who are the current members and alumni. Use words, images, videos to tell the stories of your past competitions, current activities, challenges and triumphant moments. Tell stories of people who support the team: mentors, parents and teachers.
3. Help OthersCoopetition is a word you hear a lot in FIRST events. Basically it means that the kids are competing with each other, while at the same time, they are helping -- cooperate with -- each other. What people do in that sense is to provide helpful information, links, pointers and some times tool kits, to other teams.
4. Meet Technical ChallengesThere are many technical challenges in the FIRST Robotics Competition. Specifically in building a website, one must make sure that the site passes a few marks:
   
   1. It needs to render correctly in all the major browser software: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari. Multiple versions of Internet Explorers (6, 7, 8, 9) are in use, but it is probably OK just to target version 7.
   2. It is a plus if the site is made reasonably readable on a mobile device, such as an Android phone or an Apple iPod Touch.
   3. HTML validation: Make sure that there are no errors in the HTML code.
   4. CSS validation: The same here -- make sure there are no errors.
   5. Accessible to handicapped people: It may not come natural to everyone that people challenged physically are also online. It is not difficult to allow them to access a web site. But the tools they use do appreciate a little assistance. For example, giving a photograph an appropriate title, allows a blind person to hear what the photo is about.
5. Utilize Online Resources
   There are many resources available online for one to build a web site. For example, there are open source content management systems, such as Drupal, Joomla and WordPress that would make the website administration an easier job. There are also online tools to help with the technical challenges mentioned above. For example, the W3C has tools for HTML and CSS validation. There are also tools for accessibility test.
6. Have Fun!
   I am not good at that. But I trust that the kids will always find ways to have fun while doing things.