Alumni clubs are a long-running coordination problem. The site has to be easier to update than the email thread that would otherwise replace it — and rich enough that members open it for reasons beyond the next reunion.
Two ends: public and member
The website is built in two layers. A public-facing surface introduces the club and its work to anyone who lands on it; the deeper detail — full directory, gallery, internal communications — sits behind a sign-in for verified members only. The two ends share the same design language, so a member crossing into the private section feels continuity rather than a context switch.
A comprehensive sign-up with admin approval
Joining the members' side is a deliberate process, not an open form. Prospective members fill in a comprehensive sign-up — identity, batch details, contact channels — which lands in an admin queue rather than going live. An administrator reviews each request against the cohort roster; only once the request is approved does the system send a one-time invitation link to the verified email, which the member uses to sign in. The friction is the point: it keeps the membership area genuinely member-only.
Members directory
Every member has an entry — name, batch role, contact channel of their choice, current city — and the directory itself is searchable and filterable. Finding a classmate becomes a few keystrokes rather than a chain of WhatsApp messages.
A clear member hierarchy
The committee structure (executive committee, sub-committees, advisory roles) is modelled into the site so the chain of responsibility is visible. Members know who to reach for what; new committee members inherit a structure rather than a folder.
A private gallery for members only
Reunions, milestones, casual meet-ups — the gallery collects them all on one surface, sitting behind the same secure auth layer that protects the directory. The committee uploads on the team's schedule; members browse on theirs, knowing the photographs aren't drifting onto the public web. Decades of cohort memory live in one place rather than scattered across personal phones.
Where it sits today
The site stays current because the workflow fits the committee. Members find each other, see each other, and stay in touch with the cohort across cities and decades — all on a surface only they can see into.