Whether you're a sports organization or an industry association, a well-crafted website is your most powerful tool for attracting new members and delivering ongoing value to current ones. To be truly effective, your site must combine authentic, relevant content with smart, user-friendly design—solving real problems while delivering solutions to your unique community.
Understand Your Audiences
Association website users fall into three broad groups:
- Non-members: Exploring benefits, considering joining, or seeking basic info
- Members: Accessing exclusive resources and tools
- Site Administrators: Those responsible for keeping the content fresh, relevant and accurate for your members.
All groups have unique expectations and navigate different parts of your website. Recognizing and designing for these distinct experiences is essential for maximizing your site’s value.
For Non-Members: Prove Your Value
Your primary goal with non-members is straightforward: to convert them into members.
- Make the member value proposition unmistakable—clearly answer “Why join?” on every page.
- Keep content current, compelling, and specific.
- Use the public (ungated) areas to showcase success stories, member benefits, and upcoming events.
- Guide visitors toward your membership signup with clear, engaging calls-to-action. Give them reasons to join. Plus, remind current members of the value you provide. Keeping a member is way easier than finding a new one.
Smart Tip: A confusing signup form is a deal-breaker. Keep it clear, concise, and transparent—explain what comes next and what they’ll get.
For Members: Deliver on Your Promises
Once someone joins, your priority shifts to delivering membership value that ensures their satisfaction.
Pro Tip: The easier you make membership tasks, the more value members perceive—and the more likely they are to renew year after year.
For Administrators: Untangle the Spaghetti
Administrators manage much of your organization through the website portal, whether that’s membership renewals, events, education, or product sales, all while keeping the site’s content current. A heady task. Make it easy for them.
- The admin user interface needs to be simple. Your mantra should be, "What you see is what you get." Remove any extra functionality code elements that are not currently in use. Complexity reduces use. Your admins want it simple.
- Make reporting easy. Admins need access to data. Ensure the back-end allows them to generate the reports and documentation in a format they can use. It streamlines their workload. Again, make it easy for your admins.
The Power of UX and Design
- Prioritize information hierarchy at every stage of the member journey. What is the action you want the visitor to take? Don’t give them multiple options. Simplify their choices. It increases engagement.
- The language you use on your website is an essential aspect of the User Experience. Choose each word carefully. Clear language combined with a consistent page structure makes your site easy to use.
- Every website has a section for users to submit information. The design of these submission forms is way more important than you can imagine. Take the time to ensure it is easy for visitors to understand and use. There are subtle distinctions that heighten the form's performance. Take the time to learn them (or contact us and we’ll help you out.)
Final Thoughts
An effective association website does more than inform—it inspires action and deepens engagement. By combining strong and relevant content with great UX, you create a resource your community relies on, making your website a vital asset for both recruiting and retaining members, all while keeping your site administrators happy.