What members really think about professional association websites

Our new report, Unmet Expectations: User Attitudes to Professional Association Websites, lifts the lid on how members really feel about the digital experiences offered by their associations. It’s based on our survey of 98 members across multiple professions, from doctors and vets to civil engineers and accountants. It reveals a surprisingly consistent story: professional bodies are underperforming online, and their members know it.

Members are not generally impressed with their professional association’s website. They describe them as “slow”, “confusing”, and “out of date”. Navigation is a chore, finding key resources takes too long, and logging in often feels like an obstacle course. 

To measure user satisfaction with a comparable benchmark, we ask members how likely they'd be to recommend the website of their professional association to a peer or colleague, to generate an NPS score. 

 

Our survey found professional association websites have an NPS score of just 1, putting professional association websites well below the global average for digital experiences, and in the bottom quartile of all net promoter scores. 

This seems negative, but it reveals vast untapped potential. Beneath the frustration lies real loyalty, and an appetite for something better. Members want their association’s website to help them develop, progress and connect. They’re looking for training opportunities, peer learning, professional guidance and accessible, up-to-date information that genuinely supports their day-to-day work. When those things are easy to find and well presented, the sense of value and the sense of belonging increases dramatically.

The report explores why this gap persists. It uncovers a sector weighed down by complex audiences, legacy systems and years of incremental fixes that have led to patchwork experiences. But it also highlights how professional associations can break free of that cycle by investing in clearer information architecture and user-centred redesigns that treat members like customers again.

For associations, this research offers both a reality check and a roadmap. The data uncovers major problems, but these are all solvable with the right mix of digital investment. 

In a world where attention is scarce and loyalty is earned, this report provides an unflinching look at where association websites are falling short, and how to turn things around.