Walter CampModernization Plan
Paddle Approach · 2026

A modern website built for simplicity, speed, and legacy.

Designed to make managing Walter Camp content effortless — for today and the next 100 years.

View the PlanSee how updates will work

Effortless updates

Publishing content feels like filling out a form.

Structured history

A century of records, organized and searchable.

Built for volunteers

No training manual. No web agency required.

01
Shared Understanding

The real problem isn't an old website.

It's content paralysis — caused by a system that makes the simplest updates feel like a project. We've designed this plan around that truth.

  • 01

    A difficult, time-consuming backend

    Simple updates require too many steps. The system works against the people using it.

  • 02

    Content that rarely gets updated

    When publishing is hard, it stops happening. The site drifts further from the organization.

  • 03

    Underutilized flagship programs

    Player of the Week, announcements, and milestones deserve a platform that keeps up with them.

  • 04

    History that's hard to maintain

    Decades of records, players, and teams aren't structured — so they can't grow, be searched, or be reused.

02
Our Approach

A three-level plan, designed to match how decisions get made.

Every stakeholder gets the view they need — without drowning in the layers meant for someone else.

Level 01High-Level

Reassurance

Clear phases, a defined process, and no chaos. Stakeholders always know where we are and what's next.

  • Defined phases
  • Clear decisions
  • Predictable cadence
Level 02Mid-Level

Execution

Content types, CMS workflows, and user experience designed around how Walter Camp actually operates.

  • Content modeling
  • Editor workflows
  • UX for volunteers
Level 03Technical

Foundation

Modern, scalable architecture built for long-term maintainability — not a rebuild in three years.

  • Headless CMS
  • Modern frontend
  • Secure, scalable hosting
03
How Content Will Work

Updating the site will feel like filling out a simple form — not managing a website.

Every type of content is modeled around the task. Editors see only the fields that matter. Structure is handled automatically, behind the scenes.

  • Press Release
    TitleDateContentPublish
  • Player of the Week
    Upload mediaDescriptionPublish
  • All-America Player
    NameYearDivisionAuto-organized
CMS · New Press ReleaseDraft
Walter Camp Announces 2026 All-America Team
December 11, 2026
team-2026-portrait.jpg
Uploaded · 2.4 MB
Auto-saved a moment agoPublish

Directional preview of the editor experience — not final UI.

04
Content Structure

Turning a century of history into a living system.

All-America Teams, Player of the Week, players, and awards are modeled as structured data — not static pages. Every record is filterable, searchable, and reusable across the site.

Organized by
Year · Division · Player
Data behavior
Searchable · Filterable
Reusable
One record, many places
Future-ready
Grows with the archive
Search All-America archive
YearDivisionPlayer
2025FBSJordan Hayes
2025FBSMarcus Chen
2025FCSEli Thompson
2024FBSD. Rodriguez
2024FBSSamuel Okoye
2023FCSTrey Johnson
Showing 6 of 1,200+ records · Structured, not static
05
Wireframe Preview

Early structure. Not the final design.

These are directional wireframes meant to align on structure and hierarchy. Typography, photography, and color direction come later — after we agree on the skeleton.

Homepage conceptv0.1
Content page · Playerv0.1

Early directional wireframes — structure, not final design.

06
Technology Approach

A foundation designed for the next hundred years.

We're translating the technical decisions into what actually matters: faster updates, fewer breakages, and a site that can grow with Walter Camp — not against it.

Headless CMS
Updates happen through simple forms, not code
Modern frontend
Pages feel instant — fast on every device
Secure, scalable hosting
No broken backend. Ready for peak traffic
Structured content API
History grows without redesign
07
Timeline

A clear sequence, with momentum built in.

Six phases, each with a concrete outcome. Ranges are directional — we'll lock dates together after discovery.

  1. 01

    Discovery & Planning

    Weeks 1–2

    Align on goals, audiences, and content priorities.

  2. 02

    Wireframes & Content Structure

    Weeks 2–4

    Design the skeleton: pages, content types, relationships.

  3. 03

    CMS Setup

    Weeks 4–6

    Build the editor experience around how Walter Camp works.

  4. 04

    Design & Development

    Weeks 5–10

    Translate structure into a polished, on-brand experience.

  5. 05

    Content Migration

    Weeks 8–11

    Move historical records into the structured system.

  6. 06

    Launch

    Week 12

    Go live with a team trained on the new workflow.

08
What Happens Next

Three decisions away from momentum.

Once we agree on the approach, we move quickly into wireframes and structure — the part where the new system starts to feel real.

Proceed to Wireframes
  1. 01Align on approach
  2. 02Finalize content structure
  3. 03Begin wireframes