Case Study
Member (or Customer) only web page and information access
The Need
Create an access mechanism for members only; this same approach could just as easily be provided for customers. The organization wanted to allow members to login to access information about the non-profit, meeting minutes, financials etc. The Board wanted to be able to approve and verify that people that sign-up are members before providing access.
The Variables
This was new functionality for the website they did not have anything like this in place. The board members did not have a technical background so the mechanism needed to be easy for them to use and manage. The board wanted to encourage members to sign up to access the information in order to participate in the non-profits operation.
The Solution
Establish a member signup and login screen where members can request to access to the member only section of the website; or login if they had already applied and been approved for access. If they are already approved and login; they are redirected to the main page that contains links to other pages for access to member documents etc. Anyone can request access to the member section via a form submit on the website. The form submission generates an email sent to the board for them to approve. The email sent to the board has the information from the submission, and a link that allows the board members to approve or deny the membership request. Once approved the person that requested access is sent an email indicating that their request was granted or denied.