The digital world is at the forefront of most businesses. Digital plays a role in a brand’s growth and those who don’t keep up will ultimately be left behind. But, acknowledging the need to evolve with digital and doing it are two different things.
Certain sectors face more challenges than others when embracing digital transformation. Membership organisations often have complex website requirements. Knowing how to create a site that can simultaneously support the end user and the business can feel daunting.
Membership websites can’t be simple brochureware sites. With an abundance of users, different membership levels and content, these websites need next-level capabilities to provide the ultimate user experience.
In this article, we look at considerations for membership organisations wanting to improve their digital offering.
Choosing the right platforms
For any site that hosts an abundance of content, having a CMS that can support your needs while being simple and intuitive to use is a priority. It’s important to strike the balance between functionality, capability and practicality. Consider carefully what level of personalisation you may want, what capabilities are required and how much you’re willing to have to rely on ongoing developer or agency support.
Just as important as your CMS, what CRM/Association Management System (AMS) you use should be high on your list of considerations. As a membership organisation, your user data is at the very heart of what you do, and your CRM/AMS needs to integrate seamlessly with your site.
Alongside the need for harmonious communication between your CMS and CRM/AMS, there are numerous other integrations to consider when transforming your site. Take the time to understand your business needs alongside your user’s needs and which platforms could support this. Whether it’s event portals or email marketing capabilities, you need to know what integrations will help your site deliver a superior experience for your members.
Put user experience at the forefront of your transformation
As a membership organisation, your user is at the very core of your business. As such, they should be the focal point of your transformation. Use your bank of existing members and ask them what they expect from your site, rather than basing your decisions on assumptions.
Armed with this knowledge, you can drive meaningful change to your site that will benefit the end user. Key areas to focus on include:
- Personalisation: What level do you require to give your members the best experience while remaining professional and not overloading your site with unnecessary, and costly, additional functionality.
- Your site’s architecture: Site structure and navigation should be high on your agenda when rebuilding your site. Be sure to ask your members what works for them and how they would navigate your site. Use methods such as tree testing or remote user testing to ensure your delivering an intuitive experience.
- Accessibility: Delivering a site that’s accessible should be one of your top priorities. Things like alt tags, colour palettes, typography and site navigation need to be addressed from the get-go when building your site.
Embracing digital helps your brand grow
In today’s world, if you’re not keeping up with the digital landscape, your business will fall behind. But constantly evolving at the pace the online world does can feel exhausting, especially for those with more complex website requirements.
Before beginning your project, take the time to understand exactly what you want your site to deliver, what integrations can support this and most importantly, talk to your users. Equipped with this information, you can create a site that grows your brand and facilitates further memberships.
NetConstruct is a web design and development agency specialising in the scoping, design, development and on-going support of amazing websites.. Services include User Research, UX, Design, Development, On-Going Support and Hosting.
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