Club Deportivo Unión San Felipe

A decade-long partnership developing and managing the digital presence for Unión San Felipe, a historic Chilean First Division soccer club founded in 1956.

Club Background

Club Deportivo Unión San Felipe is a professional soccer club from San Felipe, Chile, competing in the Chilean football league system. Despite being from a smaller city, the club has a passionate fanbase and a rich history in Chilean football.

Challenge

In 2009, most Chilean soccer clubs had minimal web presence:

• Basic static websites with outdated information
• No real-time match updates
• Poor mobile experience
• Limited fan engagement online

Solution

Official Club Website

Built a comprehensive WordPress-based platform:

• News section with match reports and club announcements
• Team roster with player profiles and statistics
• Match schedule with automatic fixture updates
• History section celebrating club heritage
• Photo galleries from matches and events

Fan Engagement

• Comment system for fan discussions
• Social media integration
• Newsletter for match day reminders
• Mobile-optimized for stadium access

SEO Strategy

Implemented aggressive SEO to compete with larger clubs:

• Optimized for club and player name searches
• Fast-loading pages for better rankings
• Regular content updates for freshness
• Local SEO for San Felipe region

Technical Implementation

WordPress Configuration

• Custom theme matching club colors (green and white)
• Fast hosting for traffic spikes on match days
• Caching for handling sudden visitor surges
• Image optimization for photo galleries

Content Workflow

• Match day update protocols
• Player profile management
• Historical archive organization
• Social media cross-posting

Results

Online Ranking

• Top 15 among all Chilean soccer clubs for web presence
• Outranked several larger, better-funded clubs
• Strong organic search visibility

Fan Engagement

• Consistent traffic growth over 10 years
• Active comment sections on match reports
• High newsletter subscription rates
• Social media follower growth

Personal Significance

This project was special to me as a football fan:

• Combined passion for web development with sports
• Learned to handle high-traffic events (match days)
• Understood the emotional connection fans have with their club
• Experienced the joy of seeing the club succeed online

Legacy

After 10 years (2009-2019), I transitioned the site to the club’s internal team, leaving them with:

• Documented processes for updates
• Trained staff on WordPress management
• Optimized, secure infrastructure
• Strong foundation for future growth

Period: June 2009 - December 2019 Client: Club Deportivo Unión San Felipe Achievement: Top 15 Chilean soccer club web presence Location: San Felipe, Chile