IPC Website Triples Amount of Visitors
In the first few months after the relaunch, the website had an average of 60,000 visits per month, with 500,000 pages being viewed. These numbers have continuously developed over the last 24 months. In September 2006, the IPC website saw 172,243 visits and 2,507,385 pages being viewed per month. During the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games and the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, the website reached its peak level with around 230,000 visits per month.
The website is continuously being updated by the IPC with photos, news and information. It features several sections, including specific areas related to Anti-Doping, Development, Paralympic Games and Classification. The most visited sections are "Results", "Calendar" and "News".
Said Miriam Wilkens, IPC Media and Communication Director: "In the last two years, the IPC website has emerged as a very useful source for all interested in Paralympic Sport, the Paralympic Games and sport for persons with a disability in general. The numbers show incredible growth and we are really proud that people make use of the information provided, from media releases to results, from official products to screensavers and from information about development projects to the possibility for online donations."
In close collaboration with the Netempire AG - responsible for concept, project management, technical implementation and web design - the IPC has ensured that the site was built according to the W3C Accessibility Guidelines and remains accessible and easy to use.
In the last two years, the website has constantly been improved with additional sections and tools, including an Official Product section. One of the recently launched website features is the Paralympic Games Historical Database. This database is a comprehensive collection of Paralympic Games results available from 1960 to 2006 and includes all preliminaries, heats and finals plus useful information such as scores, times, distances, etc, as well as world and Paralympic records.
During the relaunch in 2004, the IPC also introduced the Athlete Club - an online forum for Paralympic athletes to communicate. This part of the website gives athletes with a disability the chance to discuss issues and 'meet' with other athletes online. This section has experienced popularity and all Paralympic athletes who have participated at a national, regional or international level are invited to register for the Athlete Club.