Website Design - Traditional Templates or Componentised Design

When building or redesigning a website for your membership organisation, the design approach you choose can significantly impact your members’ digital experiences. A well-structured, flexible website enhances engagement and grows with your organisation. The two most common website design approaches are traditional templates and the more modern componentised design.

Traditional Templates vs componentised design

In this blog post, we'll take a deep dive into the differences between the two, discuss the pros and cons of each, and explore how a component-based approach can offer your membership organisation the flexibility and scalability it needs to thrive.

What are tRaditional templates?

Templates rely on pre-designed page layouts where content and images can be easily swapped. This approach is ideal for organisations seeking a simple, low-maintenance website. Many content management systems (CMS) offer templates that can be customised to reflect your branding.

Pros

• Cost-effective: Lower upfront costs.
• Quick to implement: Get your website up and running fast.
• User-friendly: No technical expertise needed to update or manage content.

Cons

• Limited customisation: Significant changes can be challenging.
• Scaling issues: Templates can become restrictive as your organisation grows.
• Not future-proof: Adding features or redesigning can be complex and costly.

For smaller organisations or those seeking a straightforward website, traditional templates may work well. However, as your membership grows, the limitations of templates can hinder your ability to provide a dynamic, personalised member experience.

What IS COMPONENTISED DESIGN?

Componentised design takes a modular approach, where individual “components”— such as headers, footers, or galleries — are built independently and combined to create unique layouts. This method is flexible, allowing you to adapt and grow your website over time without needing a full redesign.

Pros

• Highly customisable: Tailor components without impacting the overall structure.
• Scalable: Add new components seamlessly as your organisation grows.
• Streamlined updates: Updating a single component applies changes across the site.
• Optimised performance: Websites load only necessary components, improving speed.
• Supports dynamic content: Integrates well with CRM systems for personalised experiences.

Cons

• Higher upfront investment: Initial development costs are higher
• Technical expertise required: Skilled developers are often needed
• Longer implementation time: Building custom components can take longer than deploying templates

If your organisation wants to grow and offer a dynamic, personalised experience to your members, componentised design is the right choice. This approach provides flexibility and scalability, allowing your website to evolve with your organisation and keep up with new technologies and trends.

SHIFT TOWARDS FLEXIBILITY

As digital needs have become more complex, the industry has moved away from traditional, template-based designs. Platforms like Wix and Shopify have popularised a component-based approach, allowing users to build websites with little technical input. However, these platforms often lack the deep integration with enterprise-level systems that membership organisations need.

For more sophisticated needs, enterprise-level CMS platforms like Umbraco offer the best of both worlds. They support a component-based design approach while providing necessary integrations with CRM systems and member portals, ensuring your website can scale with your organisation.

ENTERPRISE-LEVEL CMS FOR MEMBERSHIP

While platforms like Wix and Shopify offer simplicity, enterprise-level CMS platforms like Umbraco provide the flexibility, customisation, and integration capabilities that membership organisations need. They allow you to build a component-based website that seamlessly integrates with your CRM, member portals, and other systems.

Wattle’s MemEx, built on Umbraco CMS and integrated with Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, provides membership organisations with the tools they need to engage and retain members at every stage of their journey. The benefits of using an Enterprise-Level CMS with componentised design:

• Customisation and flexibility: Complete control over your website’s look and function
• Personalised member experiences: Deliver personalised content by integrating with your CRM
• Seamless integration: Easily integrate with member portals, CRM, and marketing tools
• Scalability: Add new features, update designs, or increase capacity as needed.

SUMMARY

The choice between traditional templates and componentised design depends on your organisation’s needs and growth plans. For smaller organisations with straightforward requirements, templates might suffice in the short term. However, as you grow, you may find the limitations of templates restrictive.

A componentised design approach offers long-term scalability, flexibility, and customisation, supporting your organisation as it evolves. This approach allows you to add new features, personalise member experiences, and seamlessly integrate with your existing systems like CRM and member portals.

At Wattle, we specialise in helping membership organisations build scalable, componentised websites that support dynamic growth. Our MemEx platform, built on Umbraco and Dynamics 365, provides everything you need to create an engaging, future-proof digital experience for your members. Contact us today to learn how we can help your organisation take the next step in digital transformation.