How important are Unit Websites these days?

[Moon_chilD 200]

Hi guys,
so I've been working on my units new website/forum software. While pumping way too many hours into it I wondered: How important are clan websites these days?
 

I'm sort of on two sides here. On the one hand we don't really use our Website (especially the Forum) too much anymore since our main communication happens on discord. On the other hand though was website always important for my unit and especially me. With the Website I can provide additional information like tutorial, rules or mission related stuff. 

 

But I'm somewhat interested in how the community thinks about this topic. I know some German units have unit websites (with varying degree of quality) but when I look around on e.g. Arma 3 Units or the Reddit page I see a lot of Units that don't even mention a website. Then again I had someone ask me specifically if we have a website and he told me that he uses the website/forum to check how active the unit is (well, only issue is that as mentioned our main communication happens on our Discord server @.@)

So, what is your opinion about Unit Websites?

Many Greetings
Moony 

[nkenny 1057]

In nopryl.no we use our forums quite extensively. Indeed, it is due a major update in a few days.  We're an older community, having existed since Operation Flashpoint days and of medium size-- around 20-30 attendants on our regular Tuesday sessions.  Our forums are used  to register and organise events, post mission briefings and after-action reports and both tactical and practical Arma guides. We like having the forum backlog. 

 

Discord comes with an impressive array of convenient features. But as an older community we like the tangible weight of having our own servers, rather than being committed fully to an ethereal cloud. Because most of our sessions are planned in advance, and our size and constitution dictates that pick-up games are not always happening, the main point of contact contintues to be our forums and Team Speak. 

 

For communities both smaller and larger-- or those organised more along pick-up play. I can easily see webpages and forums being of lesser importance. 

 

-k 

[XerXesCZ 89]

Hi!

 

I personally found my unit which I used to play a lot with through their website. Thanks to the website you can determine if the units main playstyle would suit you - e.g. if it's a realism unit, if they are using RL military tactics in their game or if they play less strictly. Publishing some "Wanna join rules" and contact form also helps in my opinion for any unit to look professional. Also, public section of the forums allows you to see how the unit is active and which kind of missions they are playing. Publishing your mod list on your website isn't bad idea either, especially now when you can create beautiful websites with Wordpress and a community forums with phpBB and it's derivatives without too much hassle or any extensive knowledge of coding and it won't cost you anything - only your time of course.

 

So, my opinion is that Unit Websites are a good thing. To be honest, most units don't bother with it however, using only Steam Groups - and Discord as you mentioned you are using. I am okay with Discord, but since Steam platforms terrible lack of any good moderation tools - I personaly would never use a Steam Group to present my unit.

 

Hope this helps you, if only a little.

 

Have a nice day!

[Dedmen 2714]

Same, my units main communication also happens over Discord now. But our website is important for multiple things.

Main thing is probably advertising, a good website already says lots about your unit and can make it easy for new recruits to inform themselves.

The website lists what kinda playstyle we aim for, how to contact us, and all our socials (youtube, discord, teamspeak, steam).

And in additoon to that some promotional screenshots plus some info about our tech.

 

We need the servers anyway so it doesn't cost anything to run a website, but we don actually not have a forum.

We have mission planning and signing in/out of missions on our website (as well as in our mod launcher, and our android app) and we also use it for unit management (member list, modpack change requests, server management)

We have lots of tech that needs a place to live and be accessible.

We were using desktop applications and google spreadsheets before. But then things are all over the place, and it's hard to access while on the go.

 

21 hours ago, Moon_chilD said:

I see a lot of Units that don't even mention a website

There are lots of units without a website, and there are also lots of units that die shortly after their foundation.

If you have a website, people know you are serious about it and want to really build something up. And that it wasn't just a quick 5 minute idea to make a unit which will disappear again shortly.

[Moon_chilD 200]

Thanks for the replies so far. Its very reassuring to see that other seem to think the same in this regard. 
You all seem to have my overall opinion as well: Its all about presentation and ease of access (for information). 

I also had a very nice insight on what is important for people when it comes to a unit website. 

 

1 hour ago, Dedmen said:

 

If you have a website, people know you are serious about it and want to really build something up. And that it wasn't just a quick 5 minute idea to make a unit which will disappear again shortly.

My unit was just a quick 5 min idea and now we are 6 years old. 😂

[Rich_R 1087]

4 hours ago, Dedmen said:

.There are lots of units without a website, and there are also lots of units that die shortly after their foundation.

If you have a website, people know you are serious about it and want to really build something up. And that it wasn't just a quick 5 minute idea to make a unit which will disappear again shortly.

 

I think @Dedmen summed up my experiences. It seems to me a website indicates the effort that will be put into a group.

 

Aside from creating the website, having the content to not only benefit members but also those consider joining.