Museum digital transformation

Client

Under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA)

Project Implementation

From the outset, the integration of several key external systems was crucial to the success of the project. These integrations included Algolia for advanced search functionality, Classy and Accesso for payment system integration, and Salesforce synchronization for better data management. The challenge here was ensuring smooth compatibility across these systems, particularly for data transfer, and making sure they worked harmoniously with the new website’s architecture.

The project was organized into two primary phases, each with clear milestones. The first phase was focused on prototyping, and developing the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This initial phase set the groundwork for the final product, allowing the team to experiment with different features and solutions before diving into full-scale development. The second phase was dedicated to refining the design, incorporating feedback, and ensuring all features were fully integrated and functional. 

The project presented several technical challenges, each of which required thoughtful solutions and creative problem-solving. One of the initial hurdles was migrating large CSV datasets into the WordPress database. The team overcame this by developing custom scripts that parsed the CSV data and generated SQL queries, which were then imported directly into the database.

Another significant challenge was implementing Algolia for real-time search functionality to ensure fast and accurate results for visitors searching for people, medals, and conflicts. To address this, the team focused on enhancing the search indexing process and fine-tuning the integration. We also implemented one-way synchronization between WordPress and Algolia by developing a custom WP plugin. This plugin posts updates to Algolia whenever medal recipient records or page information in WordPress change.

Additionally, the project utilized WordPress as a headless CMS, which allowed for dynamic page assembly. This setup, while powerful, came with its own set of challenges. The team needed to configure Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) and GraphQL for seamless interaction between the CMS and the frontend, ensuring that content could be easily updated and displayed dynamically.

Finally, caching optimization was essential to the project’s success, particularly for improving the speed of page loading. Using Next.js static generation and backend-level caching strategies, the team ensured that the website was fast, responsive, and optimized for a high-quality user experience.

Key activities