Up here in Canada, hockey is a pretty big deal. For many, we eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. So I’m sure you can understand why it’s so important to keep up-to-date with the latest news as soon as it happens.
Kuklas Korner is the perfect site to get breaking hockey news as it happens. This community-funded site is updated around the clock with new blogs, tweets, and links, and it offers information that is easier to access than large sports news sites. This site really is skating at full throttle!
When Paul Kukla, owner, contacted Hop Studios in 2023, he knew he needed a line change. With the site last updated in 2018, the previous developer had been applying bandaid patches without taking the time to thoroughly maintain the upkeep. On top of that, there were countless problems with the hosting service that led to massive dissatisfaction. It was clear that a change was needed when work on the site kept being pushed out.
Hop Studios was the first draft pick and was eager to help Kuklas Korner bring home the trophy.
Our game plan involved improving the ability to format blog posts and comments and overhauling the site’s functionality. We started by upgrading the existing Craft CMS to version 5.1.2. A natural hat trick of upgrades also included a PHP upgrade and several plugin upgrades such as Snaptcha, Social Poster and CKEditor.
With new blog posts and comments being made around the clock, optimal formatting was necessary to find the sweet spot. With users contributing their thoughts and opinions in the comments, as well as the Kuklas Korner team contributing additional information, it became difficult to focus on the fundamentals. We helped streamline the comment section, making navigating and accessing additional information easier.
In addition to improving the comment section, Hop Studios enhanced the site’s auto-tweeting. Previously, these tweets were incredibly inconsistent and looked different in every post. We used the SEOmatic plugin to handle the posting to Twitter and allow for better formatting.
As a community-funded site, ads are an important part of Kuklas Korner and ensure they can continue to bring all the breaking hockey news to the fans. However, no one likes ads that cover up content. We removed the inconsistent ads and included an additional ad at the bottom of blog posts above the comment section, clearing the crease for a better experience for hockey fans.
By focusing on the fundamentals and sticking to the game plan, Hop Studios helped Kuklas Korner skate to victory. As they say on the ice, “We came together as a team!” Hop Studios looks forward to continuing to rally for the win with Kuklas Korner so they can keep bringing the latest and greatest hockey news with a more streamlined and better-functioning site.
