How Func turned FC Zenit website into a media platform for fans

At Func, we were tasked by FC Zenit's editorial team with redesigning and transforming the main page of the official website that we launched three years earlier into a media platform for fans. 

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Development prerequisites

First one

FC Zenit editorial team produces a huge amount of unique content daily: 

1. Interviews with players and club staff; 
2. Reviews and analysis of the matches; 
3. News from the life of the team;
4. Videos for different sections of the YouTube channel: 'Match reviews', 'Hidden camera', 'Dressing room', 'G-Drive Show', 'Best goals G-Drive', etc.; 
5. Photo galleries from training camps, training camps and matches; 
6. Club Podcast.

The previous version of the site can't accommodate all the variety of content. The updated website should shift fans' attention away from just the matches to all the content the club creates.

Second one

The club's editorial and marketing teams wanted a flexible tool to promote tickets for upcoming matches and events, flexible advertising places for e-shop items, and more places for sponsor's and partner's ads than on the previous website.

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Researching analogs and competitors

Before starting to update the structure and visuals of the main page, we decided to investigate the websites of Europe's top football clubs. The list included: Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, and PSG.

A brief review formed a clear understanding that all sites are built according to the same logic and structure and do not differ in content presentation from the current FC Zenit website.

Therefore, the team decided to look at news sites as references. We reviewed news, entertainment, and sports media. The study of media sites has led us to conclude that it is necessary to form a flexible grid for the placement of materials and design a publication card based on the type and type of content. 

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Variety of concepts

During the visual identity redesign, our design team worked to simplify the interface and create a concise site image to focus the user's attention on the editorial team's content.

The essential styling elements (fonts and colours) have remained unchanged, but their proportions on the page have changed. We've reduced the number of colours, graphics, and information in the key blocks. Fonts have become more prominent, prioritizing content on the page and shaping accents to suit editorial objectives.

The visual style of FC Zenit

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Forming publication cards

When working on the publication cards, we were guided by the type of content (news, interviews, photographic material, video material, future and past match cards, standings, ticket promos, sponsor banners and offers from the club's online shop), content format (quarter-width of the workspace; half-width of the workspace; full-width of the workspace) and content type (both with and without images).
That resulted in the following list of publication cards: 

1. Minimalist publication card for interviews; 
2. A publication card for an interview with an image; 
3. A card for regular publications; 
4. A card for flashy/accentuated publications and photo galleries; 
5. A video feed card for news publications; 
6. A card with a focus on the player (e.g., ‘10 facts...’); 
7. A future and past match card; 
8. Tournament table card; 
9. The best player/scorer card; 
10. A product card from the shop.

This variety of content, combined with flexible placement on the page, allows the editor to assemble the main page according to editorial objectives and media events in the club's life, rather than the limitations of the page design.

Different publication cards by content type

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From the mane page to the redesign of the site's section

During the redesign and transformation of the main page, the editorial team of FC Zenit decided to redesign the following pages based on the work done on the main page: 

1. News list page; 
2. News page; 
3. Match page; 
4. Team list page; 
5. Player's page.

More accurate project estimates

The result of the joint work with FC Zenit's editorial team was a significant update of the structure and visual concept, focusing on team life events (both primary and secondary, and subsequently women's), photo and video content.

Here are more stories about our work with the Club:

Building an official website for FC Zenit
Mobile app for FC Zenit

Website for one of the most visited stadiums in Eastern Europe

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