Introducing the ECB

The ECB is the single national governing body for all cricket played in England and Wales. They are responsible for everything from grass roots cricket development to the England squad: overseeing county and international cricket in all its forms.

Visit the ECB website

The challenge

The main objective of the ECB redesign was to bring the look and feel of the site up-to-date; allowing it to stand up against other large sporting sites like the NFL. The ECB wanted to engage its audiences more fully with content like live scores and video; encouraging longer dwell times and greater repeat visits. We were also asked to grow revenue by effectively promoting ECBtv subscriptions; Twelfthman memberships and the purchase of images via Pictopia. Crucially ECB wanted to offer a quality mobile experience for fans on the move or at matches.

What we did

Like other large sporting bodies, the ECB has to present a huge amount of content to its diverse audience base (including men and women; players and fans): all within a small amount of on-page real estate. To solve this problem, we used YUI and AJAX which allows more content to be shown via tabbing. Live scores, one of the biggest draws of the site, are integrated into every page via XML feeds from the Press Association (PA). We also assisted user journeys by implementing clearer sign posting and linking across the site. The search tool has been refined and a user-friendly sitemap is within easy reach wherever you browse. To engage users we have improved the video functionality with a customised player; there are also more special features for England fans; including photo stories and interviews with England players.

The ECB mobile apps

The ECB iPhone App was launched in June 2009 with a clear, stylish delivery of live and historic content. V.2 was launched in 2010, adding further functionality. The ECB Android App was scoped and delivered in September 2010. The success of the iPhone plus the huge take-up of Android devices proved this was the natural next step. We have completed the mobile suite with a Blackberry App in July 2011.

The results

The new ECB website is based on a sound, future-proof structure; with the mass of content now having a logical flow. The redesign has had a strong positive affect on traffic and engagement and internally the site has provided a solid platform for new content development and a flexible CMS for immediacy. The iPhone App has been a huge success. It was in the Apple Top 10 sports Apps chart for 2009. The Android App followed quickly after the iPhone version and take up has been equally exciting. With the Blackberry App off the blocks in July 2011, the ECB mobile suite is set to blast through the 500,000 downloads mark.