DNA Academy FC

DNA Academy is a football academy in Stoke-on-Trent, set up in 2020 under the banner "Born to Play". It covers the full player pathway: Mini Ballers sessions for 3 to 6 year olds, grassroots squads from U7 to U14 playing in the Staffordshire Junior Youth League, holiday camps at Kings High School in Kidsgrove, and training programmes for players who want extra sessions without signing for a team. Every session is delivered by UEFA-qualified coaches, and the academy has a growing list of players who have gone on to sign for professional academies.

The problem

DNA Academy had built a serious reputation on the pitch, but online it lived almost entirely on Facebook and Instagram. That works for existing families, but not for a parent searching Google for football training in Stoke-on-Trent. There was no single place that explained what the academy offers, which age groups train when and where, how to book Mini Ballers or a holiday camp, or why DNA is different from a standard grassroots club.

With four separate programmes, two venues and different booking systems, the information was scattered across posts and messages. The academy needed a website that looked as professional as its coaching and made it simple for parents to find the right option for their child.

What I did

I designed and built the site from scratch as a custom, hand-coded website. No WordPress, no page builder and no plugins, served from Cloudflare's edge network so it loads fast on a phone at the side of a pitch.

The design takes its lead from the club itself. DNA's kit has a sharp slashed pattern, so the site uses a diagonal slash motif throughout, paired with the academy's yellow and black, a dark premium theme and big condensed headings. The brief was modern and football themed without being over the top, so the layout leans on strong photography, plenty of space and short, sharp pieces of information rather than walls of text.

The structure is built around the questions parents actually ask. There is a dedicated page for each programme, Mini Ballers, grassroots squads, holiday camps and training programmes, each with the days, times, venues, ages and prices laid out clearly. An about page tells the academy's story, and a philosophy page turns the coaches' own "Develop, Nurture, Achieve" framework document into a clear explanation of their vision, values and playing style.

Special functions

A few things on this build go beyond a standard brochure site.

The academy signings section is one of the most important parts of the site. Swipeable sliders show players who have signed for professional academies, alongside photos from DNA squads playing at real academy venues. For a parent choosing where to send their child, that proof speaks louder than any sales copy.

Reviews from families are pulled from the academy's Facebook page into a homepage slider, backed by their 100% recommendation rating. The sponsor logos appear across every page, so the local businesses supporting the academy get proper visibility for their backing.

Booking is joined up with the systems DNA already uses. Mini Ballers links straight to their TeamFeePay booking page and holiday camps link to their camp booking system, so parents go from reading about a session to booking it in a couple of taps. Enquiries go straight to the coaches on WhatsApp, because that is how the academy actually talks to parents, with the phone number one tap away on mobile.

Behind the scenes the site is built properly. Google Analytics only loads once a visitor accepts cookies, with privacy and cookie policy pages in place. Every page has its own search-optimised title, description and structured data, images are converted to WebP, and old links are redirected so nothing breaks when pages change.

The results

DNA Academy now has a website that matches the standard of its coaching. Parents can see every programme in one place, check the days and times for their child's age group, see the players who have progressed to professional academies, and book or enquire in seconds. The academy has a proper home on Google to back up its social media, rather than relying on it.

The takeaway

A football academy with multiple programmes needs more than a social media page. When the information is clear, the design reflects the club's identity and booking is one tap away, the website starts doing the job of a first conversation with a parent before a coach ever picks up the phone.

Run an academy or grassroots club that needs a website to match what you do on the pitch? Take a look at my web design in Stoke-on-Trent, website design across Staffordshire or get in touch for a chat.