Website redesign and development
for Městské divadlo Brno
# Web Platform
Městské Divadlo Brno
2025
Full delivery of a new web platform for Brno City Theatre. From UX analysis through design to development on Sulu CMS with server-side rendering. A multisite solution featuring integration with the Colosseum ticketing system, a smart audience section, and full-text search powered by Elasticsearch.
Multisite
multiple stages under one platform
SULU CMS 3.0
Generational CMS upgrade
Colosseum
ticketing system integration
SSR
server-side rendering
From the first website to
a generational rebuild
We've been working with Brno City Theatre since 2010, when we delivered their first web presence. In 2016, a redesign followed with an audience section and a ticket watchdog feature. Both ran reliably for years, but technology, user habits, and security requirements had moved on significantly.
The theatre didn't need a cosmetic touch-up. It needed a generational upgrade of the entire technological foundation from the CMS through the frontend and infrastructure to the security layer. At the same time, it was critical to preserve what worked: a stable connection to the ticketing system, a seamless ticket purchasing experience, and simple content management for the editorial team.
Project brief
and challenges
The portal must handle traffic spikes comparable to e-commerce flash sales typically when pre-sales launch or a musical premieres. At the same time, the editorial team uses it daily to manage dozens of productions, hundreds of performance dates, and continuously updated dramaturgical content.
Key project challenges:
- Stability during traffic spikes - pre-sale peaks must not compromise portal availability.
- Migration to a modern CMS - transitioning from a legacy content management system with zero downtime and full content preservation.
- Bidirectional ticketing system integration - real-time synchronization of the program, availability, and pricing via API.
- Security - the theatre portal handles personal data of thousands of audience members and processes payment transactions.
Smart audience section
and full-text search
The audience section allows registered users to track ticket availability for specific performances with automated email notifications, rate productions, and manage their visit history.
Full-text search powered by Elasticsearch covers all website conten from productions and actors to articles and events. Results are relevant and fast even with an extensive repertoire catalog.
SULU CMS 3.0
a modern content management system
For content management, we chose SULU CMS 3.0 an open-source CMS built on the PHP Symfony framework, for which we are an official silver partner and the leading implementor in the Czech Republic. We have already deployed SULU for the Digital and Information Agency portal, the Moje lékárna e-shop, and the ISOTRA B2B portal.
Key project challenges:
- Stability during traffic spikes - pre-sale peaks must not compromise portal availability.
- Migration to a modern CMS - transitioning from a legacy content management system with zero downtime and full content preservation.
- Bidirectional ticketing system integration - real-time synchronization of the program, availability, and pricing via API.
- Security - the theatre portal handles personal data of thousands of audience members and processes payment transactions.
Kubernetes
scalable infrastructure
The portal runs in a containerized environment on a Kubernetes cluster, ensuring high availability (99.9% SLA) and, most importantly, automatic scaling during traffic spikes. When pre-sales for a new season launch, Kubernetes automatically increases the number of application instances without manual intervention. Once the peak subsides, resources are released back.
Infrastructure includes:
- CI/CD pipeline - automated build, testing, and deployment with no manual steps.
- Rolling updates with zero downtime - portal updates without interruption for end users.
- Monitoring and alerting - Grafana and Prometheus for proactive availability and performance oversight.
- Geographically separated backups - data replicated across two independent locations.
Cloudflare
the security shield
Above the entire infrastructure sits Cloudflare as a protective layer, providing:
- WAF (Web Application Firewall) - protection against common web attacks (SQL injection, XSS, CSRF).
- DDoS mitigation - automatic detection and absorption of volumetric attacks.
- CDN - distribution of static content via a global edge server network for faster load times.
- SSL/TLS - end-to-end encrypted communication.
Multisite solution with
Colosseum integration
At the core of the portal is bidirectional real-time communication with the theatre's ticketing system, ensuring complete synchronization:
- Program and performance schedule - automatic transfer of the repertoire from the ticketing system to the portal.
- Seat availability and pricing - current seat status and prices reflected in real time.
- Transaction flow - the ticket purchasing process runs through a secured API with the ticketing system and a connected payment gateway.
The architecture is designed so the portal remains stable even in the event of external service outages with graceful degradation and a message queue for deferred processing.
What the client said
about our work
"We've been working with Cognito for over 10 years. The new website makes it significantly easier for audiences to navigate the program and purchase tickets. The Colosseum integration works flawlessly, and the editorial team appreciates the simple content management through Sulu CMS."
Our
approach
From UX analysis through design and development on Sulu CMS to Colosseum ticketing integration and Kubernetes deployment.
UX analysis and information architecture
Visual design
Development on Sulu CMS with SSR
Colosseum integration and deployment
Services and products
we delivered
Custom Software Development
Complete web platform delivery from UX through design to development with multisite architecture and ticketing integration.
Digitalization and Integration
Real-time integration with the Colosseum ticketing system for online ticket sales with seat selection.
Operations and Maintenance
Long-term operations and continuous platform development—over 10 years of partnership with the theatre.
