Business Opportunity
Almost three years ago, I rediscovered my love for comedy theater through Improv Collective, a local non-profit and thriving community. It became my “third space,” where friends of all ages gather to perform, laugh, and connect.
The problem was, their web presence didn’t match the energy, inclusivity, or fun they brought to the stage. The information was outdated, the design wasn’t WCAG-compliant, and the photos didn’t really capture the incredible vibe we share every weekend.
I decided to do something about it.
⭐️ The Goal
Create a new website for my booming local theater community.
⏱️ Duration
June 2024 → November 2024 (5 months)
👯 Team
New Website Designer & Developer (Me)
Old Website Developer
Main Show Producer / Community Manager
👩💻 Users
100+ Orange County Improv community regulars.
Theater owners and show producers.
🧠 Challenges
This was an unpaid project. The team didn't have much time or energy to dedicate to the redesign effort or regular upkeep.
The existing website was live and supported many people's shows. We couldn't risk launching something that wouldn't work.
🏆 Results
A dazzling new website that supports 16 monthly comedy shows and nightly audiences of 50+.
A new backend booking platform, embedded seamlessly into the website, which is friction-free and with lower fees.
The Problems
The all-volunteer team in charge of keeping our theater afloat was working overtime to accommodate this overly-complex system that had many bottlenecks.
Fun Fact: When I was first looking for an improv class in Orange County, I chose the other theater because their website looked more professional. Whoops!
I asked myself how might we create a better website and central hub of operations which would benefit both our community members and hard working volunteer producers?
❌
Drab, outdated photos and information, hacky unfinished look
✅
Vibrant, memorable branding, updated information, photos, and show posters
❌
Difficult to maintain, gate-kept by complex software only one person could update
✅
Design that requires fewer updates, built with more streamlined, accessible tools
From here on, I made sure to operate in pursuit of these goals.
I created and sent out a Google Forms survey to our community Discord group. It received 15 responses.
Here's what we learned.
Most community members found Improv Collective through mutual friends.
Not the website. (Or anything else.)
The most popular way to learn what shows were coming up at Improv Collective was to wait for someone else to tell you.
But, an established LA theater? Check the website, obviously.
The calendar was the most valuable page. By far.
And people needed to access it on their phones.
Branding-wise, people thought our website should feature "fun", "warmth", and "community".
The current website did not receive high praise.
Information Architecture
By rearranging the information onto different pages, the thing you're looking for should only be one click away.
The Get Involved page was a new idea that answered the questions community members were often having to ask human beings through text message.
Also a photo of the building was added to the bottom most pages.
Updated photos and flashy show posters front and center, plus a reminder of the address on every single page.
After creating the initial design concept, the question remained. Who would build it? Who would maintain it?
I advocated for migrating to my favorite no-code website building tool, Framer. But there were some issues.
✅
Website was already on Wordpress. (No migration of existing data.)
✅
The producer / community manager could keep uploading event information the same way.
❌
The only guy who knew how the Wordpress beast was set up would have to continue maintaining it on his own, slowing everything down.
✅
I could build, launch, and maintain the whole thing myself. I could get the new website out QUICK and speed up future updates.
✅
Leave behind a mountain of design debt / tech debt for fresh start.
❌
I couldn't find a sufficient replacement for the Wordpress plugin that supported the calendar — the most important page — that would be compatible with Framer :(
I thought my Framer dreams were nearly dashed… until…
After visiting another theater's website for inspiration, I discovered a tiny little startup company, Jetbook.co, founded by comedian and tech maniac, Peet Guercio.
(I'll just let him explain the product to you.)
Build & Launch
With automatically updating social media widgets so there are fewer things to update on the website itself.
🏆
All Improv Collective community members have a new website to advertise their shows to friends and family with confidence. (And get to see their own faces on it!)
🏆
Our producer / community manager saves countless hours per week with Jetbook's new booking platform. And we'll never have to ask our Wordpress guy for help again!
