Ford’s Theatre
Enhanced Flexibility & Storytelling to Celebrate the American Experience
Client
Ford's Theatre
Year
2022
Expertise
Ford’s Theatre needed to equally represent all facets of their organization: being known as a world-renowned theatre, an educational & scholarly resource, and a key component in Lincoln’s legacy. With large amounts of content, we migrated to a WordPress CMS and created custom blocks to offer site admins ultimate flexibility and customization in telling their story. We also optimized their content structure to guide users across the site and encourage further discovery.
Why this project was a success
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1
Migrated CMS to WordPress for enhanced storytelling & site maintenance.
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2
Utilized custom WordPress blocks for a flexible & user-friendly editing interface.
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3
Optimized content to showcase all of Ford’s pillars and build deeper connections.
Telling Ford’s Story with Content Optimization
Ford’s Theatre is more than a theatre, it’s a campus comprising also of a museum, historical institution, and educational centre. Ford’s wanted all facets of their organizations to be represented online. We provided guidance on how to build and segment their content structure to accurately tell their story.
We created an easier way for visitors to explore all of their offerings including showings, museum visits, and learning programs. By segmenting content into 6 menus, users are encouraged to further explore the site as they visit different sections. With breadcrumbs they can easily keep track of where they are and avoid being overwhelmed by the vast content.
Using WordPress’ Blocks for Flexible Editing
The Ford’s team wanted the ability to easily create content and maintain their site. We developed over 40 custom blocks that site admins can use to build pages with maximum customization. Now they can easily adapt pages to suit all their needs using a user-friendly editing interface.
Migrating to WordPress CMS
The previous CMS system used by Ford’s Theatre was confusing, difficult to maintain, and needed a lot of external support to make updates. By migrating to WordPress, we empowered site admins to update their website independently with a ton of flexibility.
WordPress not only improved their ability to maintain their site, but it also improved their overall security. With a previous backend that was not intuitive, it became demanding for admins to regularly update their CMS, leading to security risks and in some cases a non-functional site. With WordPress, their team can rest assured that their CMS will be actively maintained and easy to update.
Integrating Tessitura TNEW
For this project we integrated Tessitura TNEW with WordPress to ensure that all aspects of Ford’s Theatre’s ticketing was up to date. Using Tessitura REST API, we built a calendar that includes historical site visits and ticket availabilities.
The calendar template allows admins to edit individual events leading to a smoother admin process. For users, it allows them to easily visualize what is included in each visit and add tickets to their cart.
About the client
Ford’s Theatre, the theatre where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, explores his legacy and celebrates the American experience through theatre and education. Ford’s Theatre acts as a national historic site that also offers inspiring theatrical productions, interactive museum exhibits, and engaging education programs.
