EASL Member Zone & CRM Integration
We’ve been working with European Association for the Study of the Liver since 2014. In February 2019 we launched their new website, which was a full redesign and build. We work closely with EASL to optimise and improve all their websites, and also build their annual International Liver CongressTM website. This year it went live in early October together with the launch of their new member zone.
The new member zone replaced their existing membership system to integrate with their member database /CRM System, allowing EASL members to sign up and renew their membership online, and access member benefits in the new member zone. This was a long term project, and we worked closely with both EASL and their CRM partners to ensure a smooth launch.
The Brief
Earlier this year EASL discussed the possibility of improving their members’ experience on their website. They wanted members to have an easy way to update their profiles, renew and also apply for memberships. In addition, it was beneficial for the members to have access to their invoices and certificates, as well as having easy access to certain documents and journals which their membership permits. All member data was to be stored on their new CRM system, allowing them to have one central database.
The Solution
After some initial consultations and data mapping we were able to start work on designs for the member zone, which included the dashboard – the first thing the user sees once they log in – their profile, member directory, documents and key member benefits such as access to the Journal of Hepatology.
Working closely with EASL’s CRM providers we used Post Man to test call the CRM API before pushing to both the live CRM and the live website.
The hardest part of the integration was creating the CRM REST API client wrapper using WordPress http API, i.e. connecting the data between the two platforms.
There were a few other issues that we were able to successfully overcome, such as the fact that WordPress itself doesn’t specifically use PHP data handling sessions (this is the way data is stored for individual users using a unique session ID). The correct method to store session data on WordPress is to use the website’s database as PHP session handling is not typically recommended for the WP environment. However for this project, all the data including user’s session data had to be stored in their CRM. We had to create a PHP session handler that used the database’s table to handle logged in user’s sessions and send the data back to the CRM. In doing this we were able to overcome the storage of data when a member was logged into the website.
This project was really exciting, it involved a lot of logic and consultation in order to work out every possible scenario a member would create on the website. We worked closely with EASL and their CRM providers to ensure we delivered the project on time and alongside the launch of their congress event website. We continue to optimise the website and will be adding more features to the member zone in the near future.
Testimonial
EASL has been working with Soto for a few years now. I worked closely with Zoey and her team to create a more modern and mobile-friendly website that would give our team greater flexibility for managing content. Thanks to our collaboration using the Agile method the website development and launch went smoothly. The Soto team is very reactive and flexible and it is a pleasure to work with them. Zoey travelled regularly to our office in Geneva to assess the project and our future development needs.
EASL
Project Lead
Zoey O’Neill
Managing Director