Club Website Setup

Set Up and Customize Your Club Website

A complete guide to every setting on the Club Website configuration page, including how to publish, unpublish, and preview your website.

Note

Only club officers (President, VP Education, Secretary, or Admin) can manage website settings.

Before You Begin

  • You must be a club officer with an active subscription
  • Your club settings should be up to date (meeting day, time, location, format) — the website pulls from these
  • Having a published schedule helps, since the website displays your next meeting and speakers

Accessing Website Settings

  1. Log in as a club officer
  2. In the left sidebar, expand the Club Website section
  3. Click Website Settings

If this is your first time, you will see a “Set Up Your Club Website” page. If you have already created a website, you will see “Manage Club Website” with your current settings.

[Screenshot: Website Settings page showing the header with the globe icon and setup heading]

Website Address

Your website address is the subdomain that visitors will use to find your club. For example, if you choose bigdtoastmasters, your website will be at bigdtoastmasters.ourclub.site.

Choosing a Subdomain

  1. Type your desired address in the Website Address field
  2. The .ourclub.site suffix is added automatically

Subdomain rules:

  • Only letters, numbers, and hyphens are allowed
  • Cannot start or end with a hyphen
  • Must be unique (no other club can have the same address)
  • Some common names are reserved (like www, admin, help)

Tips for choosing a good address:

  • Use your club’s name or a recognizable abbreviation
  • Keep it short and easy to type
  • Avoid special characters — stick to letters and hyphens
  • Example: sunrise-toastmasters or bigdtm

Once you save your website, you can still change the subdomain later by editing this field and saving again.

[Screenshot: Website Address section showing the subdomain input field with .ourclub.site suffix]

Template Style

Choose from three visual designs for your website:

TemplateStyleBest For
ClassicTraditional and warm, with serif headings and an inviting feelClubs that prefer a professional, established look
ModernClean and minimal, with a light color paletteClubs that prefer a contemporary, streamlined appearance
BoldHigh contrast with a dark color schemeClubs that want a striking, distinctive design

To change your template:

  1. Select a template from the Template Style dropdown
  2. Click Save Changes
  3. Click View Website to preview how it looks

All three templates display the same content. The difference is purely visual — colors, fonts, and layout style.

[Screenshot: Template Style dropdown showing the three options: Classic, Modern, Bold]

About Our Club

The About Our Club text appears on your home page under a “Welcome” heading. This is your chance to tell visitors what makes your club special.

What to include:

  • A brief description of your club (1-3 paragraphs works well)
  • What makes your meetings unique
  • Who your club is for
  • How long you have been meeting

Example: “We are a supportive community of professionals who meet every Wednesday to practice public speaking, develop leadership skills, and build confidence. Whether you are preparing for a big presentation or just want to become a better communicator, you will find a welcoming group here ready to help you grow.”

Leave this field blank if you prefer not to show a welcome section on the home page.

[Screenshot: About Our Club text area with example content]

Announcement Banner

The announcement banner displays a short message at the top of your website. It is useful for temporary notices like schedule changes, special events, or holiday closures.

Setting Up an Announcement

  1. Type your message in the Announcement Message field
  2. Check the Show Announcement checkbox
  3. Click Save Changes

Example messages:

  • “We’re dark the week of July 4th”
  • “Join us for our annual speech contest on March 15th!”
  • “New meeting location starting January — see Visit Us page for details”

Hiding an Announcement

To remove the banner without deleting the text:

  1. Uncheck the Show Announcement checkbox
  2. Click Save Changes

The message text is preserved, so you can re-enable it later without retyping.

[Screenshot: Announcement Message field with the Show Announcement checkbox]

Hide Next Meeting Until

The Hide Next Meeting Until setting lets you temporarily suppress the “Next Meeting” spotlight on your home page. This is useful when your club has a gap in meetings (for example, during a holiday break) and you do not want the website to show an outdated or incorrect next meeting.

How It Works

  • Set a date in the Hide Next Meeting Until field
  • Meetings on or before that date will not appear in the “Next Meeting” spotlight
  • Meetings after that date will display normally
  • Leave blank to always show the next upcoming meeting

Example

Your club is dark for the last two weeks of December. Your next real meeting is January 8th. Set “Hide Next Meeting Until” to December 31. The website will skip any meetings on or before December 31 and show January 8th as the next meeting.

[Screenshot: Hide Next Meeting Until date field]

Visitor Information

The Parking Information and Arrival Instructions fields appear on your website’s Visit Us page. They help visitors find your meeting location and know what to do when they arrive.

Parking Information

Describe where visitors can park.

Example: “Free parking in the lot behind the building. Enter from Oak Street.”

Arrival Instructions

Explain how to get from the parking area or building entrance to the meeting room.

Example: “Enter through the main lobby, take the elevator to the 2nd floor, and turn right. We meet in Conference Room B.”

Both fields are optional. If you leave them blank, the Visit Us page will still show your meeting address and time from your club settings.

[Screenshot: Visitor Information section showing Parking Information and Arrival Instructions fields]

Club Leadership Display

The Club Leadership section lets you select which members to display as officers on your website’s home page. This is for display purposes only — selecting a member here does not grant them any permissions in The Club Schedule.

Available Officer Positions

You can select a member for each of these seven positions:

  • President
  • VP Education
  • VP Membership
  • VP Public Relations
  • Treasurer
  • Club Secretary
  • Sgt. At Arms

Setting Up Officer Display

  1. For each position, select a member from the dropdown
  2. Choose “– None –” to leave a position empty (it will not appear on the website)
  3. Click Save Changes

Only active members of your club appear in the dropdown lists.

Important: These selections are separate from the officer roles in The Club Schedule (President, VP Education, Secretary, Admin). Changing officer display on the website does not affect who has admin permissions in the app, and vice versa. Update these selections when your club elects new officers.

[Screenshot: Club Leadership section showing the seven officer position dropdowns arranged in a two-column grid]

Publishing and Unpublishing

Website Status

After you create your website, it starts in Draft mode. While in draft mode, your website is not publicly visible. You must publish it to make it live.

The current status is shown in the Website Status section:

  • Live (green badge) — Your website is publicly visible
  • Draft (yellow badge) — Your website is not published

Publishing Your Website

  1. Make sure you have saved all your settings
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page
  3. Click Publish Website
  4. You will see a confirmation: “Your website is now live at yourname.ourclub.site”

Once published:

  • Anyone can visit your website at your chosen address
  • Your club appears in the OurClub.site directory
  • The visitor contact form is active and submissions will appear in your Visitor Tracking dashboard

Unpublishing Your Website

To take your website offline:

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the website settings page
  2. Click Unpublish Website
  3. Confirm when prompted: “Unpublish your website? It will no longer be visible to visitors.”
  4. You will see: “Your website has been unpublished.”

When unpublished:

  • Visitors will see a “not available” page
  • Your club is removed from the directory
  • Your settings and content are preserved — you can republish at any time

[Screenshot: Website Status section showing the Live badge and the Unpublish Website button]

Previewing Your Website

When your website is live, a View Website button appears in the action buttons area. Click it to open your public website in a new tab.

Tips

Tips

Save before publishing — Always click “Save Changes” before publishing to make sure your latest edits are included
• Preview in multiple browsers — Check how your website looks on both desktop and mobile devices
• Update seasonally — Review your about text and announcement banner every few months to keep content fresh
• Coordinate with schedule publishing — Your website looks best when you have a current published schedule. Try to publish a new schedule before the old one ends
• Keep parking info current — If your meeting location changes, remember to update the parking and arrival instructions
• Use announcements sparingly — A permanent banner can become background noise. Use it for time-sensitive information and turn it off when the event has passed

Troubleshooting

I saved my settings but the website still shows old content

  • Make sure you clicked Save Changes (not just filled in the fields)
  • If you changed club settings (meeting time, location), those changes are saved separately on the Club Settings page
  • Try refreshing your website in a new browser tab

My website address is taken

  • Another club is already using that subdomain
  • Try a variation: add your city, abbreviate your club name, or add a hyphen
  • Example: if sunrise is taken, try sunrise-tm or sunrise-toastmasters

I do not see the Club Website option in the sidebar

  • This feature is currently available for Toastmasters clubs only
  • Verify your club type is set to Toastmasters in Club Settings
  • If you believe this is an error, contact support

My officers are not showing on the website

  • Make sure you selected members in the Club Leadership section and clicked Save Changes
  • Only active members appear in the dropdowns — verify the member is active
  • Positions set to “– None –” are not displayed

The “Next Meeting” section is not showing

  • Check if you have a published schedule with upcoming meetings
  • Check if the “Hide Next Meeting Until” field has a date set that is hiding the meeting
  • Clear the “Hide Next Meeting Until” field and save to always show the next meeting

My parking info and arrival instructions are not showing

  • These appear on the Visit Us page, not the home page
  • Make sure you saved the Visitor Information section
  • Your website must be published for visitors to see these

Related Articles

  • Create a Free Website for Your Club
  • Track and Manage Club Visitors
  • Club Settings Overview
  • Creating and Publishing Schedules