Sportostroda.pl – Local sports portal for Ostróda
Sportostroda.pl is one of the interesting projects in my portfolio as a WordPress developer, realised as a local sports portal dedicated to the residents of Ostróda and its surroundings. Around 2015, this website served as an information centre for sporting events, match results, and recreational activities in the region. My task was to create a functional, responsive platform based on WordPress, optimised for performance, usability, and search engine visibility using the technologies available at that time. This project allowed me to combine my passion for technology with the needs of the local sports community.
The purpose of the site and its audience
The goal of Sportostroda.pl was to provide the residents of Ostróda and sports enthusiasts in the region with access to up-to-date news, event schedules, and reports from local competitions. The site was intended to integrate the sports community by providing information on clubs, competitions, and recreational infrastructure. The target group consisted of Ostróda residents, amateur athletes, fans, and sports event organisers looking for a reliable source of local content.
Site functionalities
- Sports news: An article publishing system with categories (e.g. football, volleyball, running), based on native WordPress functions and custom post types.
- Event calendar: An interactive schedule of sports events, implemented using the Events Calendar plugin, with filtering options by date and discipline.
- Social interactions: A comment section optimised with Disqus and a content rating system via the WP-PostRatings plugin.
- Photo gallery: Photo reports from sports events, managed by the NextGEN Gallery plugin.
- Responsiveness: Full compatibility with mobile devices thanks to a theme based on Bootstrap 3.
- Local SEO: Optimisation for phrases such as “sport Ostróda” or “sports events Ostróda”, using All in One SEO Pack and an XML sitemap.
Challenges and solutions
The implementation of Sportostroda.pl required overcoming several technical challenges using technologies available in 2015:
- Performance with multimedia: A large number of images from events slowed the site down – I implemented Cloudflare CDN and caching with W3 Total Cache, improving load times.
- Real-time updates: Managing the schedule demanded reliability – I adapted the Events Calendar with custom PHP scripts to mark completed events.
- Security: I ensured the stability of the site by updating WordPress to version 4.3, configuring caching on the Apache server, and performing daily backups with BackupBuddy.
- SEO and visibility: I optimised the content for local queries by using the All in One SEO Pack and creating unique meta descriptions for each section.
Tools used
WordPress 4.3, All in One SEO Pack, W3 Total Cache, WP Smush, NextGEN Gallery, Events Calendar, Disqus, WP-PostRatings, BackupBuddy, Cloudflare, Bootstrap 3, Sublime Text, Git, FileZilla, Google Analytics.
Site maintenance
After deployment, I provided comprehensive support: updating WordPress and plugins to versions current as of 2015, performance optimisation with W3 Total Cache and Cloudflare, daily backups with BackupBuddy, and ongoing content and functionality adjustments to meet the needs of the editorial team and site users.
