The Best Association Website Examples: 17 Features You Need to Attract + Retain Members

Association websites are the virtual homebase of your organization. They’re the space where current members can access their benefits, new visitors can scope you out, and you can highlight upcoming events in detail. 

Building an association website with valuable content and an attractive web design can help you:

Curious about what makes an association website shine? We’ll show you 11 examples of the best association websites, plus a look at high quality association event websites!

17 Features & Elements of Great Association Websites

Now you might be wondering, how do I build an association website? While there’s plenty of room to get creative with your website, there are some foundational elements and features that will help you start strong!

7 must-have features of association websites

A great website is simple and enjoyable to explore, and naturally guides the user journey. Not sure where to start? These 7 features are the vital building blocks of your association website:

• Intuitive user experience. Clear navigation menus, recognizable icons, stand-out buttons, and attractive association web design create a positive experience that can boost member conversion.
• Clear and consistent branding. Using consistent design elements, like colors and fonts that tie back to your logo, leaves a stronger impression of your organization.
• Highly visible CTAs. A great association website should feel like it comes with its own tour guide! Encouraging people to “donate now”, “become a member today”, “volunteer with us”, or “learn more” keeps people clicking.
• Relevant content. Each page has a purpose—keeping content relevant to what’s promised in the drop down menu builds trust with the visitor and helps them stay engaged.
• Mobile responsiveness. In one survey, 52% of users said they were less likely to engage with a company after a bad mobile experience. Considering the fact that 55% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, it’s hard to overstate how essential mobile responsiveness is to web design.
• Event tech integration. Event tech can give you a leg up designing your website, fostering community networking with an event app, organizing one-time and year-round events, and more!
• SEO optimization. Getting your association website to the top of Google’s results page establishes your organization’s authority and introduces you to a whole new audience. If you’re just getting started on your SEO journey, tools like SEMRush can help you identify those essential keywords.

10 association website elements to boost engagement

Ready for the next step? Once you’ve nailed the basics with the features above, use an association website builder to include these 10 elements that add value and encourage visitor engagement:

• Event calendar. Include the date, time, location, relevant links, and a short description of your event.
• Event pages. Creating unique pages for your events helps build interest, provide context, and drive registrations. Your event page could feature a registration form, FAQ, information on event speakers, programming schedule, code of conduct, travel information, and more. (Looking for inspiration? We have a couple great examples of event websites below!)
• Member directory. This helps to connect the members of your organization. Make the directory public or private depending on member preferences and the type of association you’re running.
• Members-only spaces. Exclusive spaces can help you build an online community—which is one of the top association member engagement strategies!
• Member benefit page. By providing information about pricing, perks, renewal periods, and membership impact, as well as an embedded registration form, a member benefit page makes it simple and appealing for visitors to join your association.
• Resource pages. Access to private resources is a great perk for members, but that doesn’t mean your association website shouldn’t include public resources, too! A public resource page is the perfect place for non-members to preview what your association has to offer.
• Videos and images. Not only are visuals a handy way to break up the monotony of too much text, but they also give your visitors another way to consume information and engage with your site. That said, we suggest avoiding autoplay, as many visitors find it jarring–and it’s also an accessibility concern.
• Contact information. Make it easy for visitors to connect with you by placing contact details on the Contact page as well in the footer of your website.
• Sponsor placements. Featuring sponsor logos or banners can be an effective association marketing strategy that helps you build partnerships and bring in extra revenue.
• Analytics and tracking software. Want to make sure your website is making the right impression and providing value to your audience? Tools like Google Analytics give you key insights into visitor behavior and patterns, which helps you keep improving your association website over time!

Recommended Resource: 📺 Are you looking for cost-effective, easier ways to build and manage your events? Watch 8 short videos to learn how to deliver events in any format that engage attendees and offer sponsors more value—no matter your team size or budget!

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7 of the Best Professional Association Website Examples

Professional associations serve individual people, and provide:

• Industry resources
• Networking opportunities
• Tools for professional development

Here are 7 great examples of professional association websites!

1. The Writer’s Union of Canada

The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is the national organization of professionally published writers. TWUC was founded in 1973 to work with governments, publishers, booksellers, and readers to improve the conditions of Canadian writers, and now serves over 2,600 members.

What we like:

• Highlights membership and impact on the landing page
• Consistent branding in their association web design
• Top buttons for donors, current members, and prospective members

Top takeaway: TWUC’s website delivers information about what the association offers, who it serves, and how to get involved with clean and consistent visual design.

2. International Live Events Association

The International Live Events Association (ILEA) is a global community of thousands of creative event professionals whose skills, expertise, and experience power some of the most influential live events around the world.

What we like:

• Center bubble links to the membership page
• Separate bubbles for each member segment
• Member pains are identified with “resilience and recovery resources for live event professionals” placed at the top of the page

Top takeaway: The ILEA’s membership website design highlights the help they offer across the industry and guides visitors straight towards the membership page!

3. The Wildlife Society

Founded in 1937, The Wildlife Society is an international network of over 11,000 leaders in wildlife science, management, and conservation who are dedicated to excellence in wildlife stewardship.

What we like:

• Target demographic (“wildlife professionals and students”) is top of page
• Relevant and eye-catching photographs included in branding
• Visible conference spotlight

Top takeaway: The Wildlife Society’s association website design inspires the feeling of reading wildlife magazines, and invites people of all experience levels to learn more about nature.

4. Out in Tech

Out in Tech was made to unite the LGBTQ+ tech community by creating opportunities for members to advance their careers, grow their networks, and leverage tech for social change.

What we like:

• Impact is highlighted and celebrated on page one
• Their mission statement has a CTA: “become a sponsor”
• The website design is elegant to look at and navigate

Top takeaway: Out in Tech’s association website design is a masterclass in using the CTA! As you read about their work, there are always invitations to get involved as a member, volunteer, donor, or sponsor.

5. Society of Black Archaeologists

The Society of Black Archaeologists advocates to ensure proper treatment of African and African Diaspora material culture, promote more people of African descent to enter the field, ensure community collaborations, raise and address concerns related to African peoples worldwide, and highlight the archaeological achievements and contributions of people of African descent.

What we like:

• Consistent branding—website colors tie back to the logo
• Individual members are spotlighted throughout the website
• Member page has a link to member directory

Top takeaway: The Society of Black Archaeologists’ association website reflects its mission to support its members by highlighting them in both spotlights and a news section.

6. American Baseball Coaches Association

The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level.

What we like:

• Thorough accessibility functions
• Many pictures of its members
• Resources are consistently highlighted—including a mobile app!

Top takeaway: The ABCA site has a lot of great elements, but its integrated accessibility software is a fantastic example of what accessible association website design can be.

7. American Society of Baking

The American Society of Baking is a community of baking industry professionals who have joined together to provide continuing education, networking opportunities, and professional development.

What we like:

• Tidy drop down menus
• Membership benefits page includes text, graphic, and video elements
• All visuals call back to the art of baking

Top takeaway: The American Society of Baking has been around for 100 years, and its association website compiles its past accomplishments and future goals in a way that is modern and inviting to prospective members.

4 Best Trade Association Websites

Whereas professional associations are for individuals, a trade association’s membership base is typically comprised of businesses.

Here are 4 great trade association website examples:

1. PCMA

PCMA is the world’s largest community for Business Events Strategists, providing senior-level education, networking, and market intelligence for the global business events industry.

What we like:

• Information is organized into a “Hot Topics” section
• PCMA’s magazine, Convene, is spotlighted in multiple places
• Multiple newsletter sign up options

Top takeaway: PCMA successfully organizes a great deal of content so members and visitors can pick and choose what’s most relevant to their needs.

2. The Carpet & Rug Institute

The Carpet & Rug Institute’s purpose is to educate consumers, commercial stakeholders, and the industry about health benefits, environmental efforts, and trends related to carpets and rugs.

What we like:

• Programs are clearly laid out and explained
• Consistent colors aligned with the logo
• Member directory open to the public

Top takeaway: While many professional association websites keep their directory password-locked for the sake of members’ privacy, it benefits trade associations to show off their members! The CRI’s directory does just that, listing the membership category as well so people can find collaborators.

3. Canadian Association of Recycling Industries

The Canadian Association of Recycling Industries (CARI) represents well over 200 member companies in the recycling sector. Their members process, broker, and consume commodities, including ferrous and non-ferrous metals, electronics, paper, rubber, glass, textiles, and plastics.

What we like:

• Thorough (and attractive!) accessibility tools
• Clear links to membership page, event info, and resources
• Membership sign up page has intuitive design

Top takeaway: CARI’s easy-to-use website gives readers all the information they could need about membership and the recycling industry without overwhelming the eye.

4. Cosmetics Alliance Canada

Cosmetics Alliance Canada is the leading Canadian trade association representing more than 150 member companies who manufacture, distribute, and supply personal care products marketed in Canada.

What we like:

• Public job board
• Clear breakdown of programs in the drop-down menu
• “Exploratory membership” option for startups with no significant sales

Top takeaway: Cosmetic Alliance Canada’s association website has resources available for people at varying stages of their career journey. It cheers for the industry above all, and creates incentives to become a member and help shape the future of cosmetics in Canada.

Do You Need an Association Event Website?

It’s perfectly possible to simply set up an event page on something like Eventbrite, but we highly recommend building your own association event website! This strategy ties your association’s brand to the event and directs valuable traffic back to your home page.

Your event website can include:

Now that we’ve covered membership page examples, here are two association event website examples from organizations we highlighted above:

1. PCMA: EduCon 2023

PCMA’s EduCon is an annual convention dedicated to fostering industry collaboration, tapping into the insights of innovation trailblazers, demoing prototypes of progressive learning formats, and developing a modern event playbook packed with career opportunities.

What we like:

• Links to the EduCon 2023 event platform
• Schedule is separated by each stream of programming
• Detailed page about hotel and travel
• Video components

Top takeaway: PCMA’s association event website highlights the organization’s values through creative conference programming, and inspires people to sign up for pre-conference programming, too!

2. The Wildlife Society’s 30th Annual Conference

The Wildlife Society’s Annual Conference is one of the largest gatherings of wildlife professionals and supporters in North America. Wildlife professionals make new connections with colleagues, and students meet professionals who can serve as mentors or provide insights on careers, job opportunities, current research, and best practices.

What we like:

• The “About” tab leads to information about the parent organization
• Dedicated space for t-shirts that are being made by a sponsor
• Public guidelines/code of conduct
• Includes sponsor package information and sign up

Top takeaway: The Wildlife Society’s event website is full of CTAs for sponsors, attendees, and prospective attendees, all with detailed information provided.

How Event Tech Can Help You Improve Your Association Event Website

Looking for a way to simplify setting up your association event website? EventMobi’s Experience Manager is an event management software platform that offers all the tools you need to elevate your website in one place.

The Experience Manager covers your—and your attendees’!—needs from registration to post-event follow through, with features like:

Excited about all the possibilities? Chat with our team at EventMobi today to start planning your next association event website!

Ready to Launch Your Association Website?

Association websites are an awesome opportunity to get creative with how you represent your organization. By combining the essential features and engaging elements we covered above with a keen understanding of your brand, you can build a website that you’re proud to share far and wide!

Recommended Read: Ready to create an event community for your next association event? Our guide will show you how to build community year-round and increase attendee engagement.

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