Client Project · Community Theatre
Musical Comedy Guild
Sault Ste. Marie's musical theatre company has been putting on shows since 1963, but people searching for it weren't finding its website. I updated the design of their WordPress site and fixed their SEO, so it shows up in search and sends visitors straight to tickets. I now maintain and support it.
At a glance
The problem
The Guild's WordPress site wasn't showing up when people searched for it, and visitors who did arrive had no clear route to tickets.
What I built
Design updates to their WordPress site, an SEO fix, and ticket links that go straight to the show's box office page. I maintain and support the site.
What they can do now
People searching for the Guild find its site, and get from the current season to the box office in one click. Their volunteers keep it up to date in WordPress.
Evidence
Live at mcgsault.com.
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The challenge
The Musical Comedy Guild has been bringing musicals to Sault Ste. Marie since 1963, and every season depends on people finding out what's on and buying tickets. Their WordPress site wasn't showing up when people searched, so the audience it was built for never reached it. And once someone did arrive, there was no clear route from the page to a ticket, an audition, a donation or the newsletter. It needed to be found, and then to work as a funnel.
A real client project: design updates to the Guild's existing WordPress site, the search work behind it, and ongoing maintenance and support.
What I built
- Design updates to their existing WordPress site, kept on WordPress so their volunteers can keep updating it
- SEO fixed so the Guild shows up when people search for it
- A home page built as a funnel: the current season up front, with clear routes to tickets, past shows, membership, donations, the store and the newsletter
- Ticket links that go straight to the show's page at the Sault Community Theatre Centre box office
- Navigation organised around what visitors come for: shows, auditions, galleries and getting involved
- Ongoing maintenance and support for the site
Highlights
What makes it work
Found When People Look
A community theatre lives on local word of mouth, and these days that word of mouth starts with a search. Fixing the Guild's SEO means the people already looking for it — for a show, an audition or a way to help — actually land on its site.
Every Visit Has a Next Step
The home page leads with the current season and puts the actions people come for right beside it: buy tickets, become a member, donate, shop, subscribe. Each one is a single click, and the ticket link goes straight to the box office page for the show.
Still Theirs to Run
The site stays on WordPress, the platform their volunteers already know, so the season, the galleries and the news stay up to date without calling a developer.
Behind the scenes
How I approached it
Fix Being Found First
A beautiful site nobody can find doesn't sell tickets. The search problem came first, because every other improvement depends on people actually arriving.
Design for the Season
Visitors mostly want one thing: what's on next, and how to see it. The design updates put the season front and centre and keep everything else one step away.
Work With What They Have
Rebuilding from scratch would have meant a new system to learn and a migration to manage. Updating the WordPress site they already run kept the cost down and the volunteers comfortable.
Hand Off to the Box Office
Tickets are sold through the Sault Community Theatre Centre, so the site's job is to get people there in one click, not to rebuild a ticketing system.
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