Project Completed
Website Build
OVERVIEW
Essendon Little Athletics Centre (ELAC) has been part of the local community for many years, providing athletics opportunities for children across Melbourne’s north-west.
I originally designed and built the ELAC website more than 10 years ago. Over that time, the website had continued to serve the Centre well, but it had largely been self-maintained and had gradually become outdated in both its design and functionality.
With the way families now search for information, interact with sporting clubs and access services online having changed significantly, ELAC recognised that it was time for more than simply refreshing the existing website. They needed a complete rebuild that would make the Centre's information easier to find, easier to understand and easier for families to navigate — while also creating a stronger digital foundation for the future.
The project became an opportunity to completely rethink how ELAC presents itself online, rather than simply giving the existing website a new coat of paint.
THE BRIEF
The brief was to create a modern, professional and family-friendly website that reflected the current ELAC experience and made it significantly easier for parents and athletes to find the information they need.
A major focus was usability.
Little Athletics involves a lot of information — registrations, fees, seasons, events, training, competitions, age groups, uniforms, results, frequently asked questions and club information. For a new or existing family, finding the right information quickly is incredibly important.
The new website needed to:
- Make important information easier to find
- Improve the overall experience for parents and families
- Clearly explain how Little Athletics works
- Make registration information simple to understand
- Provide clear information about fees, seasons and what is included
- Improve navigation and the organisation of content
- Create dedicated and useful information pages rather than relying on large amounts of text in a few locations
- Make the site easier to use on mobile devices
- Better showcase ELAC's community, athletes, coaches and activities
- Provide answers to common questions before families need to contact the Centre
- Improve ELAC's visibility in Google search
- Establish a stronger Google Business Profile presence
- Connect the website with Google's search and reporting tools
- Create a website structure that ELAC can continue to build on as the Centre grows
There was also a strong emphasis on future-proofing the website. Rather than simply replacing the old site, the goal was to create a digital platform that could support ELAC for years to come.
THE APPROACH
This was approached as a complete website redevelopment, rather than a cosmetic redesign.
Almost every aspect of the existing website was reconsidered — from the wording and page structure through to imagery, search optimisation, frequently asked questions and the way information is presented to families.
A complete content restructure
The existing information was reviewed and reorganised to create a much clearer journey through the website.
Content was rewritten to be more concise, relevant and easier to understand, particularly for parents who may be discovering ELAC for the first time.
Instead of assuming visitors already understood how Little Athletics worked, the new website was structured to answer the questions a new family is likely to have.
SEO and Google visibility
SEO was built into the redevelopment from the beginning rather than being treated as an afterthought.
The website was also connected with Google Search Console, providing ELAC with better visibility of how the website is appearing in Google search and allowing search performance to be monitored over time.
Google Business Profile
The redevelopment also extended beyond the website itself.
Google Business Profile components were implemented and optimised to strengthen ELAC's presence in local search and make it easier for families searching for Little Athletics in the Essendon and Melbourne north-west areas to discover the Centre.
Visual redevelopment
The imagery was also given a complete refresh.
The new visual approach was designed to better represent the energy, inclusiveness and community spirit of ELAC while making the website feel current and engaging.
Images were incorporated throughout the site to break up large amounts of information and help visitors understand the Centre and its activities visually.
THE OUTCOME
The result is a completely rebuilt digital presence for Essendon Little Athletics Centre — designed around the needs of today's families rather than the way websites worked more than a decade ago.
The new website provides a clearer, more modern and more intuitive experience for parents, athletes and visitors, with information structured around the questions and decisions families actually need to make.
The project also gives ELAC a much stronger foundation for Google visibility, local search, ongoing SEO and future digital growth, supported by Google Search Console, Google Business Profile and Rank Math.
Most importantly, the website now better reflects the organisation ELAC is today — an active, welcoming local sporting community supporting children of different ages and abilities while encouraging participation, confidence, development and personal achievement.
The rebuild transforms the website from simply being an online information resource into a valuable digital front door for the Centre — helping new families discover ELAC, helping existing families find information more easily and giving the club a platform it can continue to grow with.
The end result!
A modern, accessible and search-optimised website that puts families first, strengthens ELAC's online presence and provides the Centre with a digital foundation for the next chapter of its growth.
Site Creation
