Cinema Next
Strengthening film culture across Europe.
Outline
Vienna
Website
Challenges
A CMS that truly fits the editors
Cinema Next’s previous WordPress setup had become increasingly fragile. Updates, plugins, and inconsistent structures made publishing more complex than it needed to be. The core challenge was to design a CMS environment that empowers editors instead of slowing them down.
As a cultural association, Cinema Next speaks to multiple groups — young filmmakers, partner cinemas, and a broad film-loving community. The website needed to balance these audiences with a clear, accessible, and engaging user experience that works seamlessly across devices.
Moving away from WordPress was not just a technical decision, but also an opportunity to rethink information architecture and workflows. The challenge lay in migrating content to a new platform without losing existing material or breaking the editorial rhythm, while at the same time ensuring a smoother process going forward.
Operating in the cultural and non-profit sector also meant addressing increasing concerns around data protection and platform security. The old system left too much room for vulnerabilities (because of WordPress), so building a future-proof and privacy-conscious foundation was essential to restore trust and stability.
Objectives
Focusing on what matters
To solve the editorial bottlenecks, we implemented Statamic as the foundation of the new platform. Its flexible content models and intuitive interface gave the Cinema Next team a toolset that finally put them in control of their publishing workflows.
We restructured the website’s information architecture to guide different audiences — from young filmmakers to partner cinemas — to the content they need. The design vision from Lara was translated into a responsive, accessible frontend that feels consistent and engaging across devices.
Instead of patching the old WordPress system, we built a clean content structure from scratch and carefully migrated relevant material. This approach not only simplified the setup but also ensured that Cinema Next could expand without running into the same maintenance issues again.
By leaving behind the plugin-heavy WordPress environment, we eliminated common attack vectors and created a leaner, more privacy-conscious system. The new platform meets modern data protection standards while staying secure and scalable for future growth.
Connecting the dots - From Challenges to Clear Objectives
Cinema Next’s journey started with a fragmented WordPress setup, inconsistent content structures, and an overall user experience that no longer reflected their cultural mission. The challenge was not only technical — it was about creating trust, clarity, and simplicity for both the editorial team and the diverse audience they serve.
Outdated workflows slowed publishing, navigation felt confusing, and data protection risks undermined confidence in the platform. The clear objectives emerged from these hurdles: build a CMS that editors could actually enjoy using, redesign the user experience for clarity and accessibility, migrate content without losing momentum, and anchor everything in a secure, future-proof foundation.
Turning Objectives into Action
Each of these objectives became a guiding principle in our development process. For the CMS, we implemented Statamic to offer structured content models and intuitive editing flows, removing the friction that WordPress had introduced. To enhance the user experience, we worked closely with the designer to translate a bold creative vision into a responsive frontend that works across all devices, while also reorganizing the information architecture to support Cinema Next’s different audiences.
The migration was handled with precision — instead of carrying over legacy complexity, we streamlined content structures, ensuring editors would have a simpler, faster environment going forward. And by leaving behind a plugin-heavy system, we designed security and data protection directly into the new platform, giving the association and their users peace of mind.
From Action to Tangible Outcomes
The impact of these efforts is now visible in the new Cinema Next website. It feels cohesive and engaging for visitors while remaining effortless for editors to maintain. Content is easier to publish, projects and events are showcased with clarity, and the brand identity is communicated consistently across every page.
The move to Statamic has reduced technical overhead and given the editorial team full confidence in managing the platform themselves.
Most importantly, the website now embodies Cinema Next’s mission: supporting young filmmakers, strengthening independent cinema, and building trust with their community through a digital presence that is secure, scalable, and future-ready.
A very professional and seamless collaboration
We launched our new website together with Dotbite and the collaboration was thoroughly professional and seamless. The team communicates clearly and understandably, even for people who aren’t web design experts, and guides you through the structure and possibilities of the website in a well-organized way. We were especially impressed by the flexibility and adaptability of the entire team. Big thanks to Dotbite team - it was truly a great collaboration!
Zoe Borzi, Project Lead at Cinema Next
Achievements
10.000+
Datasets migrated
Easy
Design-to-Development transition
∞
Fun and good vibes
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