Umbraco leads UK membership bodies' digital spending

Most medium and large UK membership organisations are building their websites and other online services on Umbraco, according to a new sector survey. The research also points to rising digital investment and growing use of personalisation and AI features.

The findings come from the latest MemberWise Digital Excellence report, based on responses from 480 people across the UK membership and association sector. MemberWise says it represents 8,000 professionals across more than 2,500 membership organisations and associations.

The report describes digital technologies as central to sector operations, with member engagement, acquisition and retention among the main priorities. It also highlights non-subscription income as a focus area, including conferences and continuous professional development.

Among the headline figures is the reported scale of spending among the largest organisations. The largest 100 membership bodies are investing £250 million a year in digital technologies and web-based solutions, according to the survey.

CMS choices

Umbraco was the most commonly cited content management system among medium and large membership organisations. The report defines medium-sized organisations as those with £1.5 million to £3 million in annual membership income, and large organisations as those above £3 million.

This is the fifth consecutive year Umbraco has been the most-mentioned CMS among medium and large organisations when asked about platform selection. The survey also found satisfaction with content management systems has increased by 18%.

Respondents said they are spending between 2% and 5% of total annual budgets on related technologies. The report also noted that integration between Association Management Systems or CRM platforms and websites continues to rise (up 5%), while the time taken to integrate has fallen.

Digital priorities

MemberWise Network Founder and Chair Richard Gott linked the focus on digital projects to wider pressures on membership bodies. The report points to a need to grow membership and revenue against a backdrop of rising costs, while continuing to deliver services through both online and offline channels.

"Growth is now a requirement for all membership bodies and this is increasingly dependent on delivering engaging and value-driven digital journeys and experiences," Gott said.

More organisations are measuring engagement through website and member-portal activity, according to the report. It also found that 59% are using their CMS to personalise online experiences for members, with a growing number using interest areas and location to tailor content.

Adoption of AI-powered website functionality has increased by 21% over the past two years, the research found. While it did not specify which AI functions were most common, it framed the shift as part of a broader move towards more sophisticated digital experiences.

Agency influence

For suppliers, the survey offers a snapshot of where buying decisions are consolidating in the membership market, including professional bodies, trade associations and learned societies. Umbraco positions its open-source model and partner ecosystem as a route into this segment, which often relies on external digital agencies for build and integration work.

Jacob Howell, Umbraco UK Partner Manager, pointed to agency relationships as a driver of adoption in the sector.

"We're delighted to see that the majority of medium and large membership organisations continue to choose the Umbraco CMS platform to support their member acquisition, engagement and revenue growth. This is testament to our digital agency partners including Cantarus, Wattle, Bluelight and MSQ DX, who turn membership organisations' ambitious digital strategies into exceptional digital experiences. We're proud to provide them with an open-source platform that gives them flexibility to integrate additional technologies, whenever required, while offering an intuitive interface for content editors at membership organisations," Howell said.

One of those agencies, Cantarus, said the membership sector has become its most important individual vertical. The firm is Umbraco's first transatlantic Platinum partner and has been a MemberWise Network Partner for more than a decade.

Cantarus said it has more than 70 membership organisations as clients. It listed work for The Royal College of Physicians, British Computer Society, The Law Society of England and Wales, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Lee Adams, CEO of Cantarus, said technology choice remains central when sites are expected to perform reliably and securely.

"We've been heavily invested in the membership sector for over a decade and it's now our most important individual sector. When you're responsible for the performance, stability and security of a membership organisation's site, it's important to have full confidence in the technologies selected to build it. As an open-source CMS platform, Umbraco allows digital agencies to build websites and digital experiences tailored to the immediate requirements of membership organisations, with the flexibility and scalability to extend the platform as each organisation grows. Because Umbraco is a powerful open-source platform, we can tap into that creative ecosystem to offer clients a lower-cost implementation with no risk of vendor lock-in, and without limiting their technology options as members' digital preferences evolve," Adams said.

Umbraco was founded in 2003 and is based in Odense, Denmark. It has offices in the US, the UK and Australia, and employs more than 150 people.