Jude Goodwin has been launching websites for 23 years.
“My first website was the Canadian Bridge Federation in 1995. That was very exciting although by today’s standards there wasn’t much to it. A long page with some information and links. I don’t think we were even able to use a graphic at that time!.”
Since those early days, Goodwin has launched hundreds of websites and many of them relating to the game of bridge. Great Bridge Links, which was originally a simple page on the cbf.ca website, is now one of the top bridge resource portals on the internet and recently, Goodwin redesigned the site to include an active magazine. Other sites include Gifts for Card Players, Michael Lawrence, and the current CBF website.
But the science and art of web design and development is changing.
“Websites don’t have to cost a huge amount of money or time anymore. New platforms are coming online all the time. A beautiful website can now be built in a few short weeks and it comes completely mobile friendly, google friendly, and extremely easy to update.” Goodwin explains. “And these new sites can have calendars, galleries, small stores, and blogs at no extra cost.
Goodwin builds the sites using a platform called Squarespace. Once the site is built, the owner can access the pages easily through the Squarespace admin areas, and can also view traffic analytics and blog from an app on their mobile devices.
“These sites are so beautiful and easy to build. They are perfect for bridge writers, professionals, teachers, bridge units and clubs, and tournaments too would benefit from having a website where people can go for information.”
As well, Squarespace keeps all their modules and widgets and add-ons updated, their pages are completely secure, once launched there will be no need to worry about hacks and blocks.
If you’re interested in finding out more, you can visit Goodwin’s website Goodwin Studios – which she built recently using the Squarespace platform, and be sure to click on Our Work to view samples of Squarespace websites.
And what does it all cost you ask?
“Squarespace sites average around $950 USD to build and I can have it up and running within a few weeks. A final price depends on how many pages of information the site needs for launch. After the initial setup and launch, the site hosting typically costs $16 USD month for hosting. And if you need a domain name, that can cost around $20 a year.” Editors Note: This article was written in 2018. Nowadays, a website will cost from 1500-2500 cdn.
Working on Great Bridge Links, Jude travels the online bridge world every day and she knows there are a lot of old bridge sites out there – many still a collection of html pages.
“It’s so easy to build a google-friendly, mobile responsive, and secure website these days, I’d love to see all those websites updated to present-day standards. The material on those sites is fantastic and I hate to see them buried by Google because their technology is outdated.”
Who goes to bridge websites these days anyhow?
Bridge websites are as popular now as they ever were and it’s not surprising given the bridge world has always been at the forefront of technological trends – bridge players have active and curious minds!
The diagrams below show some analytics for two popular bridge sites over the past few days. You can see the number of tablet users and mobile users is growing. Many players are over 65+ and seniors are using tablets. However the younger categories are active as well and they typically carry phones with them at all times.
So if you’re a bridge teacher with tips to share or special events to promote, or an author with a new book or a tournament chair with a big regional every year or maybe you just want to share stories about your bridge life, or bridge links or humour, you can hire Jude Goodwin to set your site up and after that manage it completely on your own.
How do I get started?
Contact Jude Goodwin. You can email her at jude@goodwinstudios.com or you can visit her website. Outline what you’re looking for and Jude can send you information to help you get your project going.
“We don’t even have to meet,” Jude notes. “I build website for people all over the world. I can be anyone’s virtual web builder and designer and payment can be made online.”