Case Study - The ILP
A membership body’s website, rebuilt around its members.
Client:
The Institution of Lighting Professionals
Year:
2019–2025
Work:
Strategy, Design, Development, Retainer
The Institution of Lighting Professionals unites the skills of engineering, design and technology to deliver quality lighting for the built environment. As the professional body for its industry, it sets standards for good practice and supports its members in developing the knowledge, education and skills their careers depend on.
The challenge.
The ILP’s well-established website was ready for a rebuild.
It wasn’t mobile responsive, it had grown increasingly difficult to use, and hundreds of pieces of content had accumulated into a structure nobody would design on purpose. The new site needed to migrate all of that content without losing anything, reorganise it around what members needed rather than how it had piled up, and add an events calendar and eCommerce for publications along the way.
Understanding the business first.
Before anything was designed or built, I held a series of discovery meetings at the ILP’s offices with staff from different departments, because a membership body’s website serves everyone, from members, students, event-goers, and publication buyers, to the staff behind all of it. Sitting with each department meant every one of those users was properly represented before decisions got made.
The biggest strategic job was the sitemap. Turning a complex, overgrown structure into a simple one meant working through the content together and deciding, page by page, what could be dropped, combined or elevated.
It’s slow, unglamorous work, and it’s exactly what made everything that followed possible.
The build.
The ILP’s strong brand identity, bold graphics and confident colour, gave the design its direction of a clean but striking site built around the theme of light.
For the serious functionality underneath, I used proven, premium tools like WooCommerce for eCommerce, The Events Calendar for event listings, and custom post types where the content demanded them, with a streamlined, rebranded admin area so staff could manage the site with confidence.
Then Covid arrived, and with it a problem nobody had planned for, in-person training courses stopped overnight, and the ILP’s members needed education more than ever.
Working with the relevant stakeholders, I scoped and delivered a bespoke online course platform, built on LearnDash, within weeks. The ILP had students learning about lighting from around the world.
The partnership.
Heavy-duty functionality needs proper ongoing care, and for five years I acted as the ILP’s webmaster, performing software updates, security and uptime monitoring, weekly site work, monthly page designs and regular course builds. Working that closely meant issues were often fixed before anyone noticed them, and it built the kind of relationship where the ILP’s team and I were in near-daily contact.
The results.
Calls into head office reduced significantly, because members could find what they needed themselves.
Membership numbers held strong through the pandemic, with the website and course platform carrying the organisation’s education and support work when it mattered most.
The site served the ILP from its 2020 launch until their platform change in 2025, six years of work I remain proud of.
“The ILP’s previous website was no longer fit for purpose and as part of our digital transformation process, we appointed Kate to create a better designed and more functional solution. Kate took the time to thoroughly understand the aims of the ILP and helped us identify the best way to manage our new website. After a comprehensive and well-structured preparation project, our new website launched just as the UK went into Lockdown One. Although we were nervous about the timing, by then we had every confidence in Kate’s expertise. With her expert skills, we now have a website to be proud of, where our customers can find what they need and make smooth online purchases and bookings. The next phase of transformation saw us move our training courses online, using a bespoke platform created by Kate. We now have students learning about lighting from around the world. The lighting community has relied on the ILP throughout the pandemic to provide education and support. Without our excellent website and courses platform, they would have struggled in their roles and wellbeing, and not seen the benefit of subscribing to the ILP. Thanks to Kate, our membership numbers remain strong and the ILP is thriving in this digital age.”
Jess Gallacher
Engagement and Communications Manager, The ILP
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