The City Theatre needed to modernize their online presence. Their previous WordPress site was slow, difficult to update, and crashed during high-traffic ticket launches.
The Challenge
The goal was to create a "blazing fast" experience that could handle traffic spikes during season openers while maintaining excellent SEO rankings for individual show pages. Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) was also a strict requirement.
The Solution
I rebuilt the platform from the ground up using Next.js (App Router) to leverage server-side rendering for optimal performance and SEO.
- Performance: Achieved a perfect 100 Lighthouse score for Performance by optimizing images with Next/Image and implementing aggressive caching strategies.
- Database Design: Designed a normalized PostgreSQL schema to handle complex seating charts and ticket inventory locking mechanisms.
- Payments: Integrated Stripe Elements for a secure and customized checkout flow that keeps users on the site.
The Result
Since launch, organic traffic has increased by 65%. The bounce rate dropped significantly due to sub-second page loads. Most importantly, the system successfully handled the "Nutcracker" Christmas sale—processing 500+ simultaneous transactions without a hiccup.