The band approached us to take their online presence to the next level, while taking care to avoid creating an all-new site that felt slick and inspired by Corporate America. The custom Back End was comprised of a database and administration/control panel, which the band used to add blocks of content for the entire site, and individual band members used to keep their respective pages up-to-date. We also installed and customized an inexpensive out-of-the-box Message Board system and archived their old messages, which were extensive and valuable to them. The result was a community-based support system for the band which did not alienated their established fan base, who was used to the old Web site and resistant to slick design.
The solution for Blues Traveler was to:
- Use a gritty design aesthetic which reflects their taste as a band, and which their audience demands;
- Keep their old message board content, allowing users to search the outdated (but sometimes relevant) messages, while establishing a better organized, user-moderated Message Board which follows the new site design aesthetic;
- Create an easy-to-use, custom content administration system with several tiers of user access: administration privileges (which can be used to edit anything on the site), band member privileges (which can only be used to update their respective pages), and user-level privileges (which can only be used to update pre-determined pages or blocks of content).
