Houston Grand Opera - Next.js

In a significant 10-month undertaking, Bright Development partnered with the Houston Grand Opera to transition from an antiquated Umbraco CMS to a more advanced, future-ready digital ecosystem.

This pivotal move involved adopting DatoCMS to facilitate the management of an endless array of content, including blogs, artist profiles, performance overviews, and donor information. The integration of TNew/Tessitura Network added another layer of complexity, catering to the intricate needs of ticket transactions and donor management. Utilizing Next.js, the project focused on delivering a website that not only meets the high demand for content but does so with lightning speed and exceptional user experience, featuring tons of animations that bring the opera's digital narrative to life.

Migrating a major application like HGO is no small undertaking. We needed to pay minute attention to system stability - a single day down during the migration could cause millions in loss; SEO was a major concern, ensuring that we maintained and even improved upon organic traffic during the migration. 

Ensuring the new platform could be managed by non-developers was also important - the HGO team only has a single in-house developer, meaning crafting a backend with a system that couldn’t accidentally break the site was paramount.

Success was measured by the project's ability to offer a seamless experience for thousands of ticket transactions, alongside the introduction of a state-of-the-art website design that encompasses hundreds of beautifully crafted pages. These pages, dedicated to performances, artists, and events, feature modern design elements and animations, creating an engaging and immersive online presence for the Houston Grand Opera.

The transition to DatoCMS marked a departure from the limitations of the previous CMS, enabling the Houston Grand Opera to effectively manage its vast and varied content. The opera's digital platform was transformed into a visually stunning and highly functional website, characterized by its beautiful, modern design and enhanced navigability. This transformation allowed for more dynamic interaction with the site's content, including performances, artist profiles, and donor information, significantly enriching the user experience.

The project's 7-figure budget reflects the comprehensive scope and depth of the work involved in migrating to DatoCMS, integrating complex systems like TNew/Tessitura, and developing a visually captivating website. This investment underscores Bright Development's commitment to leveraging the latest technologies and design principles to create a superior digital platform for the Houston Grand Opera.

Bright Development’s execution of this project exemplifies our dedication to innovative solutions and excellence in web development. By harnessing the power of Next.js, embracing the flexibility of DatoCMS, and prioritizing a beautiful, state-of-the-art design, we have set a new standard for how cultural institutions can engage with their audiences online. This project not only enhanced the operational efficiency of the Houston Grand Opera but also elevated its online presence, offering an unmatched digital experience to its global audience.