Member Management and Online Registration

1. Project Overview

Client: TESL Saskatchewan
Role/Contributions: Web Designer and Developer
Duration: 6 months

Project Summary

TESL Saskatchewan, a professional association supporting English language teachers, needed a modern, user-friendly website to streamline membership management, event registrations, and communications. I designed and developed a new website that simplified membership sign-ups, introduced automated payments, and created a professional, approachable online presence to support the organization's mission and goals.

2. The Problem

TESL Saskatchewan’s previous website was outdated, difficult to navigate, and lacked essential functionality to manage memberships and events. As a result, the administrative team faced challenges keeping membership information up to date and processing payments manually. This limited the association's ability to engage members and provide a seamless experience for prospective and existing members.

Challenges

Membership sign-ups and renewals were manual, creating administrative overhead.
Event registration processes were fragmented, relying on external tools or manual tracking.
The previous website did not reflect TESL Saskatchewan’s professionalism, reducing trust and engagement from its members.

Goals

Provide a modern, professional website design that reflects TESL Saskatchewan’s role as a leader in English language education.
Enable online membership sign-ups, renewals, and secure payment processing.
Facilitate event registration directly through the website with automated confirmation emails.
Reduce administrative burden by automating payments, event sign-ups, and membership tracking.

3. Research & Discovery

Research Methods

Conducted stakeholder interviews with TESL administrators to understand their key pain points.
Reviewed other education-focused association websites to identify best practices for design and functionality.
Analyzed member feedback on the current registration and payment processes to identify usability gaps.

Insights

Members expected a simple, intuitive experience when registering for events and renewing their memberships.
Administrative staff needed to reduce manual work related to membership tracking, payments, and event coordination.
TESL Saskatchewan’s web presence needed to convey professionalism, credibility, and trust to attract and retain members.

Pain Points

Time-consuming manual processes for membership renewals and event sign-ups.
Inconsistent user experience due to reliance on third-party tools for payment and event registration.
Outdated website design that did not reflect the professionalism of the organization.

4. Strategy

Design Recommendations

Based on the discovery phase, I proposed a centralized website solution with integrated membership sign-ups, payments, and event registration. The design approach prioritized simplicity, professionalism, and intuitive navigation to support members and reduce administrative workload.

Design Process

To ensure alignment with TESL Saskatchewan’s goals, I developed wireframes and prototypes for user flows related to memberships, payments, and event registration. I shared these prototypes with stakeholders for feedback and incorporated their input into the final design.

Design Priorities

Modern Aesthetic: Clean, professional design to align with TESL’s role as a leader in English language education.
Ease of Use: Simple, intuitive workflows for membership sign-ups, event registrations, and payment processing.
Automation: Automated payment processing, membership tracking, and event registration confirmations.

5. Implementation

How It Was Built

The website was built using WordPress as a content management system (CMS) with a customized membership and event registration system. I integrated Stripe for secure payments, ensuring that TESL Saskatchewan could accept online payments for both memberships and event fees. Custom WordPress plugins were used to handle event sign-ups, automated email confirmations, and member account management.

Launch & Delivery

Phase 1: Developed and tested the membership sign-up system with role-based access for members and administrators.
Phase 2: Launched the event registration system with Stripe payment processing and automated confirmation emails.
Phase 3: Delivered final training for TESL Saskatchewan administrators to ensure they could manage membership renewals, event registrations, and payments independently.

6. Results & Impact

Outcome

The new website provided TESL Saskatchewan with a modern, self-serve membership and event platform. Administrative processes were significantly streamlined, freeing up time for administrators to focus on member engagement and community-building efforts.

Key Metrics

Administrative Time Savings: Reduced administrative time for membership renewals and event registrations by more than 50%.
Online Payments: 100% of payments for memberships and event fees are now processed online, eliminating manual tracking of cash and cheques.
Increased Member Engagement: Improved member experience and satisfaction due to a more intuitive website and easier registration process.

Before/After Comparison

Before: Manual membership renewals, reliance on cash/cheque payments, and event registration through third-party platforms.
After: Fully online membership sign-ups, payments, and event registration with automated notifications and role-based account access.

7. Reflections

Introducing automation reduced the administrative workload for TESL Saskatchewan's small team.
The clean design elevated the perception of the organization’s professionalism among members.
The website has worked so well for them that it has become the backbone of their organization.

It was a pleasure to work with TESL Saskatchewan. They are a brilliant, innovative group of professionals who care a lot about the success of their members. So it was enormously enjoyable to put tools in their hands, and to watch them achieve so much with them.

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