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Big I Illinois

Ensuring Association Adaptability with a Modern Website CMS

For 125 years, Big I Illinois has been supporting independent insurance agents and consumers throughout the state. The membership consists of agencies that offer property, casualty, life, health and benefits insurance. As independent agents, association members represent more than one company and can offer customers a choice of policies to fit their needs.

Desktop monitor displaying the Big I Illinois website homepage with the headline 'Membership has benefits.' The page highlights services and resources for members, along with a prominent 'Learn More' button and a section showcasing the latest news updates.
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ilbigi.org

Results

Change for the Better, Empowerment for the Future

As a nonprofit, Big I Illinois doesn’t have unlimited funds for endless technology changes. So when a major change—like selecting a new CMS—is necessary, making the right choice is critical.

With BizStream, they found a partner who was willing to speak plainly with them, help them get the greatest value from the solution they chose, and position them for greater autonomy and control over their website and their content for the long term.

Today, Big I Illinois has a site that empowers its content editors in ways they’ve never experienced. They can:

  • Update content, change page layouts, and even add or remove pages—at will.
  • Add resources and control who can access them—without any fuss.
  • Showcase new solutions, upcoming events, and featured education opportunities—directly in the site.

And most important, the Storyblok CMS is easy for their users to learn, understand, and use.

BizStream continues to partner with the Big I team, providing ongoing support and helping them add new features and workflows so they’ll continue to get the greatest value that Storyblok offers.

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Responsive design mockup of the Big I Illinois 'Education Courses' webpage displayed on a laptop, tablet, and smartphone. The page features the headline 'Enhance Your Knowledge' with a group of professionals engaging in a discussion, emphasizing industry changes and leadership skill development.
Screenshot of the Big I Illinois 'Become an Agency Member' webpage with a dropdown menu under 'Membership' showing options for Agency Members, Associate Members, and Young Agents. The page highlights the benefits and resources available to agency members with a prominent 'Apply Now' button.

It’s easy to become siloed in our own association’s world. But having an experienced partner who could guide us through the process—and encourage us to think as a user—was very beneficial! BizStream listened. And they understood what I needed before I realized I needed it. The combination of knowledge, experience, and empathetic guidance created a fantastic final product.

Rachel Romines
Director of Communications, Big I Illinois
Responsive design mockup of the Big I Illinois 'Membership' page displayed on a smartphone and tablet. The page outlines membership options, including 'Agency Membership' and 'Associate Membership,' with details and 'Learn More' and 'Apply Now' buttons.

Challenges

An Inflexible and Increasingly Costly Website

For many associations, website redesigns are deferred maintenance—always taking a back seat to projects that are more urgent, or easier, or cheaper.

The trouble is, the website is the front door for members. So when that entry point no longer works for you or your members, it’s time to make a change.

That was where Big I Illinois—previously Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois (IIA of IL)—found themselves. This professional association provides agencies and agents with industry resources, operations support, advocacy, and vital business connections.

But the Director of Communications, was frustrated by the inflexibility of the site, which made it extremely difficult for her and her team to demonstrate the powerful value of Big I Illinois membership.

Big I Illinois turned to BizStream for recommendations. She made it clear she was not looking for just another website vendor. She needed a partner and a guide who would help her make a lasting, meaningful change in how they managed their site, content, and technology.

She found the partner she needed with BizStream. Our proven process and experienced teams helped her break out of the limitations she’d been working with and empower her organization’s:

  • Management, giving site control back their internal teams
  • Members, supporting their needs for education and connection
  • Mission, providing a competitive advantage for independent insurance agents

Requirements

Making a Change That Makes Future Changes Easier

Big I Illinois realized their website had reached a tipping point: it was more costly to keep putting money into their old site than to replace it.

Content management in the rigid and antiquated platform was limited to exactly two page-layout templates. Any changes to the site had to go through the external vendor’s ticket system, taking significant time and expense.

As the association approached its name change, the team wanted to give the site a new look. But more important, she wanted to take back control of her story and her marketing efforts.

The new site needed to:

  • Enhance the user experience and improve wayfinding for high-value resources
  • Improve content management for everyday tasks
  • Enable greater flexibility in page design and content organization
  • Empower the internal team to handle more complex website tasks independently

Taking Back Control of the Story

Content Management
  • Streamline content entry and updates
  • Expand page creation options
  • Enable sitewide changes
UX/IA
  • Improve navigation
  • Reduce clicks to resources
  • Simplify search
Systems
  • Reduce IT burden
  • Enable future flexibility in tech tools and systems
  • Lower costs where possible

Solutions

Focusing on Empowerment

Because Big I Illinois’ most critical need was empowering their content editors, we recommended they build their new site in Storyblok. Although many headless CMSs offer benefits for modernizing website and technology architecture, Storyblok is the only CMS we found that is truly designed with content editors in mind—and at an affordable price point.

The Visual Editor ensures that both new and experienced business users can come up to speed quickly and feel comfortable utilizing the systems’ flexible features.

In addition, Storyblok will help Big I Illinois continue to adapt their site as needed with advantages such as:

  • Easy, API-driven integrations with best-of-breed solutions and tools
  • Rules-based editing and workflows to strengthen brand and messaging consistency
  • Superior scalability as business and member needs change

True Content Control

Our teams leveraged our deep association experience to deliver association-specific components and features, including enhanced visibility into events, education, and resources.

Big I Illinois editors are no longer stuck with one way to present information. They can create, compose, change layouts, and re-imagine their story—all in Storyblok’s intuitive Visual Editor.

Screenshot of the Storyblok platform displaying the 'Education & Licensing Resources' page for Big I Illinois. The page highlights resources such as 'New Hire Training,' 'Scholarships,' and 'Frequently Asked Questions,' with additional links to check licenses and access the Illinois Department of Insurance website.
Screenshot of the Big I Illinois website navigation menu expanded under the 'Education' section. The dropdown displays categories such as 'Education Courses,' 'Designation Programs,' and 'Education Resources,' with links to specific topics like 'Ethics,' 'Pre-Licensing Program,' 'Scholarships,' and more.

Intuitive & Personalized Navigation

The old site required numerous clicks just to find simple information. It was easy for users to get lost.

We helped the Big I Illinois team rethink their user journey and delivered changes to the site map, menus, and navigation. Now, users can see themselves in the association—and find personalized pathways to the information that’s truly relevant for them.

Simplified Search & Improved Access

For users needing to access member resources and benefits, we implemented a centralized Solution Center, adding SSO and Algolia search. Then, we pulled member content from the AMS into a user-friendly, interactive layout that reduces clicks and friction.

The new search functionality enables users to easily log in, search by topic or keyword, and filter results. And content editors can seamlessly add content and control its visibility to members and non-members.

A search results page on the BIG I Illinois website displaying results for the keyword 'benefits.' The page shows a search bar with a clear button, a total of 40 results, and a list of relevant links, including 'Employee Benefits,' 'Form for Big I Illinois Associate Member Benefits,' 'Become a Big I Illinois Agency Member,' and 'Go for the Gold: Capitalizing on What’s Trending with Agency Marketing.'

Process

Discovery First: Re-imagining Possibilities

Being locked into a restrictive website doesn’t just impact how members see your association. It also limits innovation, creating patterns of thinking that prevent teams from imagining fresh approaches to their work.

For the Big I Illinois team, breaking those patterns was key to making meaningful changes in her site and her organization. BizStream’s experienced consultant team provided hands-on guidance, leading her through our defined process.

Website Discovery: Mapping the Project

For any size website project, from simple to complex, the discovery step is a time and cost saver. Through the Website Discovery and Roadmap phase of the project, Big I Illinois got a fresh understanding of the members who come to their site, what they need, and where they encounter roadblocks.

Our analyses and alignment discussions revealed insights that helped the team visualize a better user journey, brand new navigation, and significant opportunities to consolidate and simplify content.

Screenshot of a content management system displaying a detailed sitemap for Big I Illinois. The sitemap includes hierarchical structures with various categories and subcategories, illustrating the organization of website content.
Mockup displaying the Big I Illinois 'Education Courses' webpage on a smartphone and tablet. The page features the headline 'Enhance Your Knowledge' with a group of professionals in discussion, emphasizing the importance of staying updated with industry changes and leadership skills.

Site UI and UX Design

Wireframing—high resolution layout prototypes—help save time and costs by enabling our UI/UX designers to develop modern page layouts before moving them into a visual design. These flexible frameworks facilitate productive discussions, helping Big I Illinois get an even clearer picture of the user journey, from top-level navigation through every interaction.

Visual Design to Smooth the Journey

Since Big I Illinois was implementing a brand uplift along with their name change, we created a visual design that leverages their professional color palette in a clean, modern page design.

Simple icons provide visual cues throughout the site to indicate links that go to external sites, video players, or downloadable resources. Details like these help visitors almost unconsciously understand where they are and how to take next steps.

Screenshot of the Big I Illinois 'Become an Agency Member' webpage with a dropdown menu under 'Membership' showing options for Agency Members, Associate Members, and Young Agents. The page highlights the benefits and resources available to agency members with a prominent 'Apply Now' button.

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