Case study from Made Grand. Project: Circus Area Residents Association (CARA Bath). Focus: . Outcome: A WordPress migration that replaced a restrictive Squarespace site while providing a stable platform for community communication and future development.
Community
Circus Area Residents Association (CARA Bath)
A community association website designed to support residents, events and local communication.
A community website designed to support residents, events and local issues in one of Bath’s most historic neighbourhoods.
Visit Circus Area Residents Association (CARA Bath) →
The Problem
The Circus Area Residents Association represents residents and businesses living around the historic Circus area of Bath.
The association exists to protect the local environment, strengthen community spirit and represent residents’ interests with local authorities.
Membership is open to households and businesses in the area, with members engaging through events, meetings and community communications.
The existing website was built on Squarespace and had become limiting in terms of flexibility and long-term development.
The Challenge
Migrate the existing website from Squarespace without disrupting the association’s communications.
Maintain the familiar structure and content used by members while improving flexibility.
Provide an easier way to manage community information, events and announcements.
Deliver a platform that could act as a stable interim solution ahead of a planned future rebuild.
“A community platform designed to support residents in one of Bath’s most historic neighbourhoods.”
What we built
We focused on a pragmatic migration strategy, rebuilding the site on WordPress while preserving the structure members were already familiar with.
- WordPress website migration from Squarespace.
- Recreation of the original navigation and page structure.
- Event and news sections to support community updates and local engagement.
- Flexible CMS allowing committee members to manage content.
- Lightweight implementation focused on reliability and ease of use.
Outcome
The new website provides CARA with a stable and flexible platform that supports community communication and ongoing development.
- A reliable WordPress website replacing the restrictive Squarespace setup.
- Improved ability for committee members to publish events, announcements and local information.
- A digital hub supporting residents, meetings and community initiatives.
- A foundation for a future full rebuild using the same content structure.
What This Included
- Recreated the existing site architecture to minimise disruption for regular visitors.
- Migrated content and imagery from the Squarespace platform into WordPress.
- Implemented a structure that allows committee members to update events and announcements more easily.
- Prepared the platform to act as a stable foundation for a future rebuild using modern tools.
Reflection
Community websites need to prioritise reliability and clarity over complexity. By focusing on stability and ease of updates, the platform supports the association’s role as a local communication hub.
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