Substance Over Style: Judging Success in Performing Arts Websites

We've all been there. A theatre, orchestra, or dance company unveils their shiny new website, and everyone's first reaction is "Ooh, pretty!" But as we know in the design world, a website's success goes far deeper than that initial first impression.

Of course, there are plenty of objective ways to evaluate website design—analytics can tell us about user experience metrics, performance testing measures load speeds and mobile responsiveness, and focus groups provide structured feedback. These data-driven approaches are valuable and necessary for measuring success in the long term.

But let's be honest: we're often in situations where we need to make subjective judgments about design quality without waiting for months of analytics or commissioning expensive user testing. Perhaps you're reviewing designs in the early phases of a project, comparing proposals from different agencies, or simply trying to articulate why something isn't working visually.

This post is about navigating those subjective evaluations, particularly in the context of performing arts websites. You're serving multiple audiences with different needs (first-time visitors, subscribers, donors, artists, media). And you're often working with limited budgets while trying to capture the magic of performance in pixels.

So how do we move beyond the "ooh, pretty" factor to judge if a performing arts website is truly successful? I've found it helpful to look at five key areas.

Flair: The Emotional First Impression

Let's address the elephant in the room first. Yes, flair matters. That initial emotional impact when someone lands on your site sets the tone for everything that follows. Our designers love to include subtle animations and vibrant visuals into a project to draw in the eye and tell a brand story.

But here's the thing about flair – it's the most subjective aspect of design and often the one stakeholders fixate on. "Make it pop!" has launched a thousand designer eye-rolls. The real question isn't "Does it wow me?" but "Does it create the right emotional connection for this specific organisation?"

For performing arts sites, this emotional connection is crucial. You're not selling widgets; you're selling experiences that move people. Your website needs to give a taste of that emotional journey.

But style without substance is just digital jazz hands. Which brings us to...

Usability: Making Life Easier (Not Harder)

Ah, usability. Often the unsung hero of website design. Unlike flair, which announces itself loudly, good usability quietly does its job, guiding users where they need to go without drawing attention to itself.

For performing arts websites, usability challenges abound. Take the events calendar – a seemingly simple feature that can become a UX nightmare. Users need to filter by date, venue, genre, accessibility options, and price. They need to compare options and understand availability. They need clear paths to purchase. Each decision about what information to display (and what to hide behind clicks) shapes the user experience.

Similarly, the user flow for purchasing tickets often involves multiple steps: selecting seats, applying discounts, creating accounts, etc. Each friction point risks losing sales.

Smart layout decisions are crucial here. What information needs to be front and centre on a production page? Show dates and "Buy Tickets" button, certainly. But what about cast lists, running times, content warnings, or donor recognition? Usability isn't just about making things easy to find; it's about making the right things easy to find for different user groups. The answers to these questions vary by audience and organization, and it takes a skilled UX designer to create the right experience for an individual company.

Brand Alignment: True to Who You Are

Brand alignment isn't just about slapping your logo everywhere. It's about ensuring every design choice – from colour palette to typography to image selection to voice and tone – authentically represents who you are as an organisation.

This is particularly tricky for performing arts organisations that might present diverse programming. How do you create a coherent brand identity for an arts centre that hosts everything from children's puppet shows to experimental sound art to Shakespeare? The answer lies in focusing on your organisation's values and personality rather than specific art forms. Are you playful? Provocative? Traditional? Community-focused? Those qualities should shine through regardless of the specific event being promoted.

Content: The Star of the Show

A crucial truth that sometimes gets lost in the design process: your website isn't about the design. It's about the content. Design should be the thoughtful frame that highlights the artwork, not the artwork itself.

Great website design for performing arts organisations works like great theatrical lighting – it directs attention exactly where it needs to go, enhances the mood, and never distracts from the main event. It makes your content more digestible and impactful without calling attention to itself.

This servant-leader approach to design is particularly important in the performing arts world, where what you're showcasing – productions, artists, experiences – must take centre stage. Your stunning production photos should be displayed in ways that maximise their emotional impact. Your season announcement should be structured for easy scanning and comparison. Your artist bios should be formatted for readability.

I've seen too many performing arts websites where design choices actively fight against content. Text overlaid on busy images making it unreadable. Video players so small you can't appreciate the choreography. Programme notes buried under flashy but meaningless animations.

Strong design decisions that serve content include:

• Typography choices that prioritise readability while reflecting organisational character
• Image treatments that respect the integrity of production photography
• Information architecture that helps users find the content they need without frustration
• White space that gives content room to breathe and creates focus
• Responsive layouts that ensure content remains impactful across all devices

When design truly serves content, the resulting website doesn't just look good – it communicates effectively. And for performing arts organisations trying to convey the magic of live experiences through digital means, that communication is everything.

Execution: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Finally, we have execution – the technical craft of bringing design to life. This encompasses everything from code quality to responsive design to accessibility.

Performing arts websites serve diverse audiences. Your users might include elderly patrons booking on desktop computers, young people browsing on mobile devices, visitors with visual or motor impairments using assistive technologies, or international tourists with translation needs.

Good execution means your site works beautifully across all these scenarios. It loads quickly (even with those gorgeous high-res production photos). It's fully accessible to screen readers. It looks good on both massive desktop monitors and tiny phone screens. Forms work smoothly. Videos play properly. Links don't break.

This unglamorous work often happens behind the scenes, much like the technical aspects of theatre production. And just like a smooth technical rehearsal can make or break opening night, solid execution can make or break your website's success.

Finding the Balance

There's no magic formula for perfectly balancing these five elements. Each performing arts organisation has unique needs, audiences, and constraints. A major opera house will approach these differently than an experimental fringe festival.

What matters is considering all five aspects when evaluating design success, not just focusing on the most immediately visible (looking at you, flair). Because ultimately, a successful performing arts website isn't just pretty – it's an effective platform for connecting audiences with transformative artistic experiences.

And isn't that connection what this work is all about?