In 2016, I was asked to help the newly formed staff at Cactus Club get a website up and running — quickly. I launched a simple but scalable site in short order. Nearly a decade later, that foundation has grown into a robust platform housing over 3,600 events and 2,600 artist profiles.
My approach to web development balances public usability with administrator empathy — ensuring that the site works smoothly not only for visitors but also for the people maintaining it. After all, managing a website should make their jobs easier, not harder.
Over the years, I’ve continued to expand and refine the site with a focus on ease of use for a large and occasionally rotating staff.
Here’s a glimpse into some key features that the general public can’t see:
Artist Portal
Artists can log in to manage their profiles in the directory. These profiles are used by staff to attach to events, so there’s a one-to-many relationship. It’s a massive time-saver for staff responsible for populating new events on the calendar.
Event Management Tools
Staff can record income and expenses for each event directly through the site, through the site front-end or back-end, even from a phone while working the door. With a nice “print to PDF” feature to send reporting to booking agents, managers or bands that require it.
Custom Reporting
Management has access to reporting tools that help forecast income trends, assist with month- and year-end auditing, and provide useful data for grant proposals. Here’s a vignette of what you might see as an admin user:
Email Marketing Integration
I built a custom system that generates Mailchimp-ready HTML templates. Staff simply select the events they want to promote, and the tool automatically builds an email with a one-click “copy email to clipboard” feature for easy import. This way, we can re-use content and images already available and the staff can quickly put together a regular marketing email with very little hassle.
Accessibility
In line with the venue’s commitment to improving physical accessibility—even though they’re grandfathered in and not required to—I extended that same philosophy to the website. I conducted a full accessibility audit and updated the site’s framework to ensure it’s usable and inclusive for people of all abilities.