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Thrive Vineyard: WordPress Customization & Third-Party Integrations

A dynamic, content-driven website built and maintained for a community organization, involving custom frontend work and third-party system integrations.

Highlights

  • Built and maintained production website for community organization
  • Custom frontend customization and third-party integrations
  • Balanced usability, accessibility, and maintainability
  • Long-term maintenance of live production site

Tech Stack

WordPressJavaScriptHTML / CSSThird-party embeds

Tags

Web ArchitectureFrontend ArchitectureThird-Party API IntegrationAccessibility (a11y)Responsive DesignRequirements InterpretationTradeoff AnalysisWeb DevelopmentWordPressFrontend

Problem / Context

Community organizations need websites that are easy to maintain, accessible to diverse audiences, and integrate with external systems for events, donations, and communications.

This project required:

  • Building a dynamic, content-driven website
  • Integrating with third-party systems (event management, donations)
  • Balancing usability, accessibility, and long-term maintainability
  • Supporting non-technical content updates

Approach / Design

I built the website using WordPress as the foundation, with:

  1. Custom Frontend: Developed custom themes and templates for specific needs
  2. Third-Party Integration: Integrated external systems for events and donations
  3. Accessibility: Ensured WCAG compliance for broad audience access
  4. Content Management: Designed content structure for easy updates by non-technical users

Key Decisions / Tradeoffs

WordPress Choice: Using WordPress because:

  • Non-technical team members could update content
  • Rich plugin ecosystem for integrations
  • Lower maintenance burden than custom CMS

Custom Development: Customizing rather than using off-the-shelf themes:

  • Met specific organizational needs
  • Maintained design consistency
  • Enabled future flexibility

Accessibility Focus: Prioritizing accessibility:

  • Ensured broad audience access
  • Met legal compliance requirements
  • Improved overall user experience

Technical Implementation

// Code coming soon...
// Implementation details will be added here

Results

The website successfully:

  • Served as the primary online presence for the organization
  • Integrated seamlessly with external systems
  • Remained accessible and usable for diverse audiences
  • Supported ongoing content updates by non-technical team members

The project demonstrated:

  • Ability to work within platform constraints
  • Skill in balancing technical and user needs
  • Experience maintaining production websites
  • Understanding of accessibility requirements

What I Learned

  1. Platform Constraints: Working within platform limitations requires creative solutions
  2. Long-Term Maintenance: Production sites require ongoing attention and updates
  3. User Experience: Balancing technical capabilities with user needs
  4. Accessibility: Building accessible sites improves experience for all users

What I'd Improve

  1. Performance: Optimize page load times and reduce plugin overhead
  2. Security: Implement additional security measures and regular updates
  3. Documentation: Create maintenance guides for future developers
  4. Testing: Add automated testing for critical functionality
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