New Website Announcement
17 October 2025
We are delighted to announce plans for a new website and membership management system for IRMS. Whilst our current platform has served us well over the years, unlike any of us, our old platform had become inefficient for our needs. This has resulted in the decision to upgrade to a new system which is due to go live in late November. Some of the benefits are: - Increased data security with UK-based servers – a subject close to our hearts!
- More secure and flexible membership payments with the option to renew your subscription automatically.
- Easier management of your profile and control over your privacy settings.
- A private member directory which is easy to customise, offers a powerful search engine with smart keywords, and makes it easier to connect with others in the community.
Our dedicated staff and volunteers are migrating and updating content, so please look out for more information and opportunities for a pre-launch preview. No plan survives contact with the enemy, so please bear with us: we will be relying on you to give us feedback to ensure the new website works for everyone. IRMS exists to promote the professional development of anyone involved with information management. Therefore, our communication platforms must be up to the job of bringing people together and making it easy to access information about everything that IRMS has to offer. What was wrong with the old system? Technology moves increasingly fast, and our current platform had become dated. This causeda few issues including payment glitches which were annoying to members and took a lot of time and effort to resolve. We also want to attract new members and felt that our current ‘shop window’ was not visually attractive and did not showcase the many activities, events and member benefits on offer. Most importantly, the old site did not meet modern accessibility guidance. Which platform has been chosen? We have selected WordPress because it is cost effective, scalable and supported through an extensive community. It also offers many third-party integrations (including MembershipWorks) and simplifies our ability for support through IRMS volunteer resources. How will members benefit? Our new member management system from MembershipWorks links into the most common website platforms allowing us to improve the user experience for all our website visitors. - All servers holding member data and back up data are based in the UK.
- Member subscriptions are much simpler and integrated with Stripe, a leading payment system. This means we can offer a variety of subscription payment options, catering for different needs of individual and corporate members and with automated renewal.
- Easier management of your profile and control over your privacy settings.
- A private member directory which is easy to customize, offers a powerful search engine with smart keywords, making it easier to connect with others, manage your profile and control your privacy settings.
Have you thought about accessibility? Yes. We have tried to keep accessibility at the forefront when planning the new platforms. This includes WCAG compliance, which means a website meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, structured by the four POUR principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust. This ensures content is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. If the website does not meet your needs or could be improved, we want to hear from you. We are currently migrating and updating content and hope to go live in late November once checking and testing has been completed. We will be holding events for members to give feedback and familiarise themselves with the new layout. |
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