American Society of Interior Designers

ASID’s problem was pretty straightforward. They needed a new website for their national society, and a standard template to be used by their chapters throughout the country. The project became much more complex when you take into account the 47 chapters associated with ASID and the timeline of 5.5 months to launch all the websites on the same day.

The sites had to be responsive and have an easy-to-use Content Management System (CMS). Most importantly, the process needed to go smoothly. ASID redesigned their website a few years prior, and were underwhelmed with the experience. Additionally, the design didn’t hit the mark for them. They needed to tell the story of their organization, and since their organization focuses on how design impacts lives, the web design was a crucial part of the project.

Orases brought a solution to ASID that checked all the boxes. The site was built using Orases’s 24Watch® CMS, making it easy to create and maintain engaging content. Orases also provided four different design templates that chapters can choose from, to help differentiate themselves and show their unique personality.

The site uses Google Analytics to track traffic, and allows ASID to set up polls with electronic balloting and sell banner ads for profit. In order to better organize the content and cut down on wasted time, Orases helped ASID redo their information architecture, taking the site from 15,000 pages to 10,000.

With a new Association Management System (AMS) ASID can manage the accounts of their members across the country, opening up more benefits for members.

Other features of the site include:

• Direct Connect to AMS
• Central Command Center to Control 45 website
• Chapter Sites with Awards/Competition Center
• Content Syndication to Chapter Sites
• Enterprise Search Engine
• Personalization Based on Login

AMS Integration Highlights:

• Single Sign-on
• Account Management
• Chapter Membership
• Print Membership Card
• Find a Pro
• Pay and View Invoices
• Manage Payment Accounts
• Direct Member Benefits Links
• Job Bank
• Find a Chapter

Site Specs:

• Speed Increase from 6ms Load Time to 1.8ms
• Performance Grade of 92% vs 58%
• Reduced Click to Content by 75%
• 100% on Google Mobile Friendly Test
• SEO — High Marks from 3 3rd Party Audits

For starters, all 48 websites launched with all features in one day, within 18 hours of the deadline! ASID used the new survey feature of their site to poll users on their thoughts of the new site, and were happy to report that 93% of respondents like it. Additionally, ASID was thrilled with the overall process of developing and launching the sites.

Orases worked with ASID nearly every day for five and a half months, and even hosted a webinar to train 150 users across the country. The three-hour video is recorded and saved to be reused for future members. As for a before and after comparison, the site’s speed increased by a third, the performance grade of the site went from a 58% to a 92%, and the Click To Content was reduced by 75%.