Our Work

Services Provided

The City of Cranbrook is a progressive community committed to enhancing the quality of life for its residents through excellent programs and services, while fostering a business-friendly climate. Its website serves as a resource hub, sharing community events, government updates, recreational opportunities, city services, and information on building and business development. With three major websites–for the city, the recreation centre, and the airport–there is always something new and exciting to keep both locals and visitors informed.

Hop Studios started working with the City of Cranbrook in early 2019, providing ongoing development and maintenance for its websites. Our initial work included upgrading their ExpressionEngine CMS to version 5.0 (the latest version at the time), migrating their hosting, implementing automated forms, refreshing landing pages, and improving accessibility.

When Cranbrook first approached us, their sites were running on EE v3.5.11. In 2019, we upgraded them to v5.0 and set up multi-site management for their three related sites. We followed this with another major upgrade in 2021 to EE6, and most recently to EE7 in 2023. Keeping the CMS current helps ensure smooth performance, stronger security, and reduced technical debt, which in turn lowers long-term maintenance costs.

In 2020, the City partnered with a third-party for a visual refresh of their website. We collaborated by implementing the new design prototypes — a process we thoroughly enjoy. As part of the redesign, we introduced a streamlined contact form that directs inquiries to the appropriate department, making communication easier for both visitors and staff.

One of the most impactful additions to the site was a comprehensive solid waste and recycling tool. This feature allows residents to search their address to find their collection zone and schedule. We also added a helpful “What Goes Where” tool, which lets residents type in any material and instantly learn how to dispose of it properly–no more guessing which bin to use. Incredibly useful!

The City of Cranbrook wanted to simplify its website backend so that staff and new team members could more easily make edits and updates. We provided training on navigating the ExpressionEngine interface, giving them greater freedom (and independence!) in managing their own content. This training included tasks such as uploading documents and assets. There’s nothing more rewarding than empowering our clients to confidently maintain their own sites.

As a major tourist and visitor destination, Cranbrook also needs to ensure its site is accessible to everyone. We were happy to support them by implementing key accessibility improvements. Website accessibility is about designing websites that can be used by people of all abilities, including those with disabilities. It ensures equal access to information and services, supports compliance with ADA standards, improves usability through features like clearer navigation, captions, and allows organizations to reach a wider audience.

Our accessibility improvements included:

• Adding descriptive text to links, buttons, and videos for screen reader navigation
• Improving colour contrast for people with low vision or colour blindness
• Removing focusable elements from ARIA-hidden sections to improve screen reader and keyboard navigation
• Ensuring interactive elements had hover/focus states so keyboard users could easily identify active or clickable items

These enhancements make the site more usable for people with disabilities and improve the experience for all visitors. Now, the City of Cranbrook can better welcome everyone to its vibrant and beautiful community.

If you’re looking to explore the stunning East Kootenays and the Rockies, we highly recommend a stop in Cranbrook. Whether you’re looking for outdoor recreation, catching a hockey game, or checking out a show, there’s truly something for everyone!