Bold Center

Lac La Biche County needed to replace the Bold Center’s existing website with a more modern and practical online resource.

Ease of use was the primary requirement. Patrons, businesses and visitors needed to be able to find information quickly without having to understand how the facility itself was organized.

The website also needed to do more than simply present static information. It had to support interaction with visitors, provide a clear way to discover upcoming activities and events, work properly across phones, tablets and desktop computers, and remain straightforward for Bold Center staff to update internally.

Accessibility, loading speed and compatibility across different devices were also important requirements, particularly given the wide range of people using a municipal recreation facility website.

The new website was built using WordPress so Bold Center staff could manage day-to-day content without needing specialist technical knowledge.

The information architecture was reorganized around the needs of website visitors, with the aim of making the most frequently requested information easy to identify and reach quickly.

A custom responsive design was created around the Bold Center brand and its “Life Happens at the Bold Center” identity. Rather than using device-specific layouts, the site was designed to adapt to the available screen width so the same content and functionality would remain usable across desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

Events were treated as an important part of the visitor experience. Upcoming events were intended to appear prominently on the homepage, while event categories and filtering would help visitors narrow the calendar to activities relevant to them.

The project also included content migration, search-engine optimization, testing, staff training and a structured launch process rather than treating the website redesign as an isolated visual exercise.

A custom WordPress theme was developed specifically for the Bold Center rather than adapting an off-the-shelf commercial theme.

Required functionality was integrated directly into that theme, allowing the website to be built around the facility’s requirements rather than forcing its content into a predetermined template.

The site incorporated an events calendar with categorized events and filtering, allowing visitors to find activities that matched their interests while also surfacing upcoming events prominently on the homepage.

Social media content was also integrated into the website using a combination of WordPress plugins and custom code, bringing regularly updated material from the Bold Center’s social channels into the wider website experience.

Accessibility and quality assurance were also built into the development process. The proposal called for WCAG 2.0 Level A compliance as a minimum, accessibility testing, cross-browser testing and testing with people with disabilities to identify potential improvements.

The project delivered a new WordPress website designed around ease of use, responsive access and straightforward internal content management.

Bold Center staff were provided with a system they could maintain through WordPress, while visitors could access facility information and upcoming events across desktop and mobile devices.

The project also included on-site training and a user guide so staff could manage the website after launch rather than relying on a developer for routine updates.

The completed project established a more flexible web presence for the Bold Center, with a custom design, structured event information and a content-management platform that could continue to evolve with the facility’s needs.