From Punk Rock to Plugins

Adventures in WordPress with Some Legendary Clients

Freshly back from a quick trip over the pond to NYC meeting some new clients, and our 17th birthday in the website business is upon us!

As a Bristol web design agency we’ve been crafting websites longer than social media platforms have existed. From dial-up to dark mode, we’ve seen it all (yes, even those interesting font choices from 2007).

We’ve made websites for festivals, websites for bars, websites for cars, websites for hotels, websites for supermarkets, websites for agencies, websites for record labels (getting the picture?) and a lot of websites for bands.

We have a real passion for all the websites and business we work with but the music industry in particular. You might think working with some of the world’s biggest bands would be all champagne, private jets, and backstage passes, but let me shatter that illusion and tell you – most days, it’s just me and my trusty keyboard, battling rogue plugins and tweaking CSS.

But what a ride it’s been!

Last year I took a look back and wrote a big old long list of all the music industry websites we’ve created with over the years. This time round I’m going to focus on a few all time favourite artists we’ve had the fortune to work with.

Mosh Pits to Code Splits

When we first started working with The Creative Corporation on the official Nine Inch Nails website, I thought back to my 15 year old self, stood outside the local record store waiting to buy The Fragile, and how I would never have imagined some of the artists I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Little did I know that years later I would be designing and building a fully custom WordPress site and Shopify store for a band with such a hardcore following, fuelled by copious amounts of coffee and Trent Reznor’s industrial beats on repeat.

Since launch, nin.com has been viewed over 1 million times (!) and as a personal thanks from Trent, I received some hand finished artwork prints, coated in charcoal, complete with US Customs biohazard tape on arrival… needless to says caused some initial alarm.

When the Stones Roll In

Then came The Rolling Stones. Yes, those Rolling Stones. Creating a website for rock legends who have seen it all was a bit like trying to tune up a vintage car—you don’t want to mess with what’s already iconic, but you want to make sure it’s firing on all cylinders and doesn’t crumble under the shear weight of their global fan volume.

Our mission: give them a modern, responsive site that still screams “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.” It was like balancing a classic Keith guitar riff with a killer new sound system.

Old Souls & Countless Nights

Another one of my personal portfolio highlights has been our long-term partnership with Deaf Havana, an incredible English alternative rock band. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of creating multiple iterations of their WordPress website, since the release of Old Souls, with each design evolving alongside the release of their albums.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see them live on multiple occasions. Their front man even shares my birthday!

We’re proud to have played a part in amplifying their digital presence. If you’re new to Deaf Havana, check them out live:

Welcome To Paradise

[Nice Guys Finish] Last but by no means least, another one of my all time personal favourites and a band that needs no introduction, Green Day. You’d think that working with punk rock legends and “the most dangerous drummer in the world” would involve some serious chaos, but actually, it was one of the most chilled projects we’ve ever done.

We built them a slick WordPress site to promote their Awesome As F**k tour, album, and—most importantly—their merch. Because let’s be honest, if you’re not sporting a Green Day t-shirt, are you even a real fan? They might be the “punk-est” band around, but they know the value of a well-oiled eCommerce machine.

Dookie was the gateway album for me in to rock music and their latest endeavour Saviours is as good as they’ve ever been. Fingers crossed we get to work with Billie Joe and crew again soon.

WordPress: The Rock Star’s Best Friend

Now, you might be thinking, Why WordPress? “Isn’t that just for bloggers and small businesses?” Well, no, not really. WordPress is like that multi-instrumentalist who can play anything from classical to heavy metal. It’s insanely versatile and can be customised to suit just about anyone’s needs—whether you’re a local business or a band that sells out stadiums.

With these iconic clients, we’ve had to pull out all the stops: custom themes, lightning-fast performance optimisation, seamless eCommerce integration, and let’s not forget the SEO—because even rock gods need Google love.

What We’ve Learned Along the Way

1. Every Band Wants Their Website Faster Than a Guitar Solo – Everyone loves speed, especially when you’ve got fans refreshing the page for tour dates every 10 seconds. But seriously, optimising these high-traffic websites taught us a lot about performance—hello, CDN, caching, and lazy loading!
2. Plugins Are Like Bandmates – Some play nice with others, and some… don’t. (Looking at you, Liam & Noel) When you’ve got 20+ plugins on a site, it’s a delicate balancing act. Get one wrong, and suddenly you’ve got a full-on WordPress mosh pit, and trust me, that’s not pretty.
3. Creative Freedom is Cool, Until It’s Not – Sure, rock bands love to push boundaries with their designs, but someone has to be the adult and say, “No, you can’t have a homepage that explodes into flames every time someone clicks.” (Or at least not too many flames.)

Here’s a quick sonic summary of some of the names we’ve worked with so far:

What’s Next? World Domination… Or At Least Some More Custom WordPress Builds

As we continue to work with incredible clients from across the globe, we’re constantly refining our craft. Whether it’s building fully custom WordPress sites for Grammy-winning artists, or helping new bands get their digital presence started, we approach every project with the same level of care, creativity, and yes, a little bit of rock ‘n’ roll. Our core values remain the same:

Disruptive. Innovative. Bold.

So, if your website is looking a little flat, or you need a custom WordPress build that can handle as much traffic as a sold-out stadium tour, give us a shout. We may not have Mick Jagger’s moves, but we’ll make sure your website rocks as hard as the legends we work with.

Thanks to everyone who’s been part of our digital journey so far, not just the rock super stars.

Here’s to making the internet a prettier place, one pixel at a time… and we’re just getting started.