Search Engine Optimization
UX Design
UI Design
Front-End Development
Back-End Development
API Integration
Project Management
Custom Mock Draft Machine Tool
The challenge
The NFL Draft is a pivotal part of the U.S. football calendar, and one that sees millions of users researching, following, and pining over college players that might join their team. The Draft Network is a leader in delivering the news and updates these users crave, as well as a way they can create their own draft order and fulfill their draft analysis fantasies.
To better serve these users, the client wanted to modernize their site’s design to match their incredible, in-depth, and informative content. Not only that, they wanted to improve the feel and function of their Mock Draft Machine tool, which allows users to build their own drafts and preferred players lists—or “Big Boards”—to share with friends and fellow fans.
Our solution
Creating the new look for The Draft Network took all of our ingenuity and creativity. Not only did we need to redesign their home page, but our designers and developers also had to come up with customizable pages for both current NFL teams and players, as well as hundreds of prospective NFL players from the college ranks.
The biggest challenge was making all of this information on the constantly-updated pages look less like a database and more friendly to the user. We took into consideration how the users would digest the information easily and created a more stable flow to make sure they’re getting what they’re looking for, but also enticed to explore the site more.
Keeping their eyes upfield
Coverage of the NFL Draft is cyclical. The draft itself takes place in late April, but the news cycle surrounding teams, player acquisition, and the impact on the league runs 365 days of the year. Then, come the next April, that industry dialogue resets.
To account for that constant churn, as well as the significant daily user base The Draft Network sees as a leader in NFL Draft news, we had to make every page highly flexible. News moves quickly, and players move up and down draft boards daily, so the site as a whole had to be able to change quickly and efficiently.
Not only did that play into the design and development, but the Lifted Logic team also trained all 30 writers employed by The Draft Network on how to correctly amend the site and how to best use SEO practices in their articles.
