Turning a theatre website into a true audience experience.

Services: UX Audit · Content Architecture · UI/UX Design · Website Development · WordPress Development

Recognized with 2026 Gold ADDY Awards and AMY Best of Show honors for Online & Interactive work.

The Challenge

Slow Burn Theatre Co. had built a reputation for Broadway-quality productions in South Florida. Their website hadn’t kept up.

The existing site lacked the visual sophistication, usability, and emotional pull that define the Slow Burn experience. Critical user paths — buying tickets, donating, subscribing to their “Burner” program — were unclear or buried. The experience didn’t reflect the caliber of the productions happening on stage. And the backend gave their team little flexibility to manage content or promote new seasons without outside help.

They needed a digital presence that worked as hard as their productions do.

The Approach

We started where good UX always starts, with the user. Before any design decisions were made, we conducted a full content and UX audit, mapping how patrons were navigating the site and where they were dropping off. The goal was to identify where the experience was creating friction between audience behavior and the actions the organization was trying to drive.

From that audit, we restructured the entire content architecture around three primary actions: explore productions, purchase tickets, and donate or subscribe. Every design and development decision that followed was filtered through that lens.

Design System & Visual Direction

The visual direction flowed directly from the brand archetype work established in the broader brand refresh – The Creator – and was built to feel cinematic without sacrificing usability. The design system included:

• A refined color palette and typography hierarchy that elevated the theater’s professional identity
• Dynamic show imagery treated for consistency and emotional impact
• Bold, intentional UI elements including: motion, spacing, and button treatments — designed to feel dynamic without overwhelming the experience
• A photography and content system designed to maintain consistency as new productions are added over time

Development & CMS

The original Slow Burn website was built on Wix — an outdated setup that had outgrown its own limitations. The structure was rigid, the content model was fragmented, and the team had little room to grow without hitting walls. We managed the full content migration, auditing and restructuring what existed before moving anything over.

The new site was rebuilt on WordPress Gutenberg Block Editor, giving the team significantly more flexibility, scalability, and control.A robust, custom-configured WordPress template replaced the Wix foundation, giving the Slow Burn team full creative control post-launch with no developer dependency for day-to-day updates. The block system was tailored to their content needs, making the backend intuitive for day-to-day use.

Key builds included:

• Featured production pages designed to immerse audiences while making key information easy to navigate
• Simplified subscriber pathways that made the value of the “Burner” program clearer and easier to act on
• Streamlined ticketing and donation flows designed to reduce friction and encourage action
• A mobile-first experience optimized for how modern audiences discover, browse, and purchase

The Results

Slow Burn Theatre Co. now has a digital experience that better reflects the quality of its productions while giving the internal team more flexibility to manage content, promote shows, and support audience growth independently.

The impact was immediate:

• 250% increase in website traffic following launch
• 10% increase in bookings

Recognized with multiple industry awards, the new platform positioned Slow Burn for long-term growth while creating a clearer, more engaging experience for audiences.