WebCitz started working with this client in 2009
- Client: NGJA
- Platform: WordPress
- Industry: Entertainment / Recreation, Non Profit / Religious
- Services: Maintenance / Support, Web Development, Web Hosting
Transforming a decade-old legacy system, NGJA upgraded to a secure, custom WordPress platform tailored for managing judge credentials, payments, and national rosters. This modernization streamlined annual renewals and data integrity, setting a new standard for gymnastics judge administration.
The Challenge
The NGJA requires more than a standard website; they require a secure, robust database to manage the professional credentials of judges nationwide. Their primary hurdles included:
- Complex Profile Management: They needed to track specific certifications, regional assignments, and history for 700+ active judges.
- Annual Financial Logistics: Every year, the organization must facilitate membership renewals and collect dues across the entire database, requiring seamless payment gateway integration.
- Legacy Technical Debt: For over a decade, they relied on a complex Joomla/Community Builder setup. While functional, it became increasingly difficult to scale and maintain as modern security standards evolved.
The WebCitz Solution
We have provided a “Lifeline” of technical support, ensuring the organization never faced downtime while modernization took place:
- The Joomla Era (2009–2020): We managed their Community Builder installation, allowing for highly specific custom profile fields. We handled sensitive data imports/exports to keep judge rosters accurate and ensured that annual billing confirmation stayed synced with their financial records.
- The 2020 WordPress Evolution: We led the total migration from Joomla to WordPress. Rather than relying on rigid off-the-shelf plugins, we manually built out the custom functionality required to mirror their complex workflow, ensuring the new site performed exactly as the organization needed without the bloat of unnecessary code.
- Membership Automation: We streamlined the process of annual renewals and judge profile updates. This reduced the administrative burden on NGJA leadership, allowing them to focus on judge training and competition standards.
- End-to-End Managed Support: For nearly two decades, we have provided a total “hands-off” experience for the client, managing their hosting environment, security updates, and domain name renewals.
- Data Integrity & Exporting: We continue to assist with the high-level data management required to keep the national roster updated, facilitating the move of data between the website and other gymnastics administrative bodies.
The Result
By 2026, the NGJA possesses a high-functioning, custom-built digital headquarters that serves as the gold standard for gymnastics judging administration. Our work transitioned a legacy 2009-era system into a sleek, modern, and secure WordPress platform that can handle the rigors of national membership management. By trusting WebCitz for over 17 years, the NGJA has maintained technical continuity and data security through several major shifts in web technology.
