New ILM website improves membership engagement, online services and member satisfaction
Challenge:
To improve web usability for ILM’s wide and varied B2B and B2C audience, while making the site easier to manage day-to-day.
Solution:
Complete redesign and redevelopment of the website with new information architecture, using RedDot CMS to improve site management, and bespoke integration development with backoffice systems.
Results:
A CMS and integration solution that gives ILM the ability to communicate with a range of site users with targeted content.
The Challenge
As a membership organisation, ILM wanted to build a new content managed website that delivered for a wide range of complex stakeholders, including existing and prospective members and customers. They wanted improved site architecture and a simple CMS-based method by which staff could update the website. They also wanted to implement a new design that was intuitive, fresh and modern.
ILM also required a solution that could be integrated with their membership system (ARIADNE) and other back office databases, as well as improved functionality to assist both potential and current members to locate relevant information. In addition, ILM needed to be able to publish their online magazines and journals in magazine specific micro-sites.
ILM is part of the City and Guilds Group, who already use RedDot CMS and so this was the natural choice for ILM, and a prerequisite for the project.
The Solution
Netcel has been a RedDot Partner since 2001. Having developed and supported numerous websites and intranets, Netcel is highly experienced at providing CMS solutions with advanced integration requirements.
The ILM content management solution, using RedDot, provides ILM editors with the ability to maintain site content quickly and easily. RedDot gives editors excellent control over site content management; the Navigation Manager allows editors to manage the site structure, and in SmartEdit, web managers have an easy to use editor allowing content to be changed directly from the page it lives on.
The new website has been integrated with ILM’s membership system and provides members with the ability to update their details in real-time. Members can also upgrade their membership and new members can apply and pay for their membership online. The site is integrated with WorldPay for credit card payments and with edirectdebit.com for Direct Debit payments. The Centres across the UK offering ILM qualifications can also log-in to access relevant data and documents from ILM’s centres databases. Justin Masters, Technical Director at Netcel, adds, “Utilising our core Microsoft .NET skills, we were able to fully integrate all systems and give ILM the robust functionality they needed.”
Visitors to the site can now browse ILM qualifications and find their nearest centre offering the qualifications they need. The site also offers tools to assist visitors on choosing the appropriate grade of membership or the qualification most suited to their requirements. Advanced search capabilities have been provided with the integration of the Google Mini Search Appliance.
RedDot allows ILM to generate micro-sites for each issue of the organisation’s magazines and journals: Edge, LGM and Enterprise.
The Result
The customised solution has provided ILM with a fully content managed, up-to-date website that enables site visitors to locate the information pertinent to them quickly and easily. Integration of the membership database and CRM elements has been extremely effective, and has cut down on the need for ILM staff administration such as data entry and processing of payments and memberships, as these tasks can now be completed directly by the users themselves.
ILM now has a scalable CMS solution, and is not dependent on Netcel for the creation of new pages or micro-sites. Content of the site is now arranged flexibly and stratified for different levels of membership. This enables ILM to provide targeted content to different levels of membership, and in so doing, improves the all round experience of their users.
The website incorporates sophisticated tools to help visitors access the information and services they need, and the new design presents a modern navigation structure alongside a fresh new look.
A successful integration project has been delivered, built upon the Microsoft .NET platform and utilising RedDot for the CMS. ILM now have a website fit for purpose for all its customers, which puts the user first, and also aids delivery of its products and services.
Technologies Used
RedDot CMS 7.5
Microsoft .NET 2.0
SQL Server 2005
ASP.NET 2.0
Web Services
Windows Services
To view the website, visit www.i-l-m.com
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