The HBCU Radio Preservation Project is dedicated to honoring and preserving the cultural legacy of radio at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Nearly a third of the 104 HBCUs have radio stations, many of which have been on air for more than fifty years. Much of that material is at risk as magnetic tape, obsolete formats, and even present-day digital files continue to deteriorate. The project began with a 2019 survey of HBCU radio stations and has since grown into a multi-year initiative supported by the Mellon Foundation, in partnership with WYSO, NEDCC, the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University, and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

Creative Repute was brought on to design and develop a website that could support the full scope of this work. From the outset, it was clear that this would not be a typical website project. The platform needed to carry history, connect institutions, support ongoing fieldwork, and remain accessible to a wide range of audiences with very different levels of familiarity with radio preservation. To ground the project early, we began by developing a web-based style guide that defined typography, color systems, and accessibility standards, ensuring consistency before moving into site mapping, wire framing, layout design, and development.

A Platform Designed to Connect, Not Contain

The website would not act as the archive itself. Instead, it would serve as a gateway into a network of distributed archives, oral histories, and partner-managed collections. This distinction required a more thoughtful approach to structure and navigation. The site needed to guide users toward content that often lived elsewhere while still providing context, meaning, and a cohesive experience.

This approach also meant that the website had to function as both a public-facing storytelling platform and an operational tool for the HBCU RPP team. It needed to support the documentation of field visits, oral history collection, training initiatives, and partnerships, while remaining intuitive for someone encountering the topic for the first time.

Structuring the Experience Around Action

During discovery, the Creative Repute team worked closely with HBCU RPP and WYSO to understand how different audiences might interact with the platform. Early conversations revealed a tension between serving specific user groups and keeping the experience simple. Rather than forcing visitors to identify themselves as researchers, students, educators, or community members, the structure shifted toward a task-based approach.

The site was designed to meet users where they are and guide them based on intent. Whether someone arrives to explore a station, listen to an oral history, understand preservation practices, or get involved in the project, the platform creates multiple pathways to reach that goal. This reduced friction and allowed deeper exploration without overcomplicating the experience.

The Interactive Map as the Core System

The interactive map became the backbone of the entire platform. Because HBCU radio stations are geographically distributed across the country, the map provides a clear visual entry point into the project’s scope. More importantly, it acts as a connector between all major content types.

Each map interaction was designed to lead somewhere meaningful. Clicking a station reveals a profile that can connect to oral histories, archived audio, or related stories. Over time, the map evolved to include filtering logic, dynamic data display, and layered navigation that allows users to move seamlessly between geographic exploration and thematic storytelling.

To support this, Creative Repute implemented WP Go Maps with a Pro add-on, allowing for custom markers, structured data, and scalable management of station information. This ensured that the map could grow alongside the project as more stations, stories, and data points are added.

Designing a Flexible Audio Ecosystem

Because HBCU RPP is fundamentally an audio preservation initiative, audio strategy was one of the most critical parts of the project. Early discussions explored multiple approaches, including hosting audio directly within WordPress, relying on NPR’s internal systems, embedding from third-party platforms, or using external storage.

The team ultimately landed on using Amazon S3 as the primary storage solution for audio files. This approach allowed the website to remain fast and lightweight while supporting a growing archive of large audio assets. By hosting files externally and embedding them into the site, HBCU RPP gained both scalability and control, without compromising performance or overloading the CMS.

This decision also left room for flexibility. Oral histories already hosted on platforms like YouTube could still be integrated when appropriate, but the core system would not be dependent on any one external platform’s limitations.

Building a Scalable Content System

Beyond audio, the platform needed to manage a wide range of content types without becoming fragmented. Creative Repute developed a system powered by Advanced Custom Fields, allowing the team to create structured templates for station profiles, oral histories, archived audio, blog posts, and events.

This meant that instead of building pages individually, the system could dynamically generate consistent layouts based on structured data. As new stations, stories, or recordings are added, they can be integrated into the site without disrupting the overall design.

Supporting plugins and tools were selected with intention. These included solutions for SEO, security, backups, forms, analytics, and media management. The goal was not to overload the site with features, but to create a stable, maintainable system that could support the project long-term.

A Technical Stack Built for Longevity

The technical approach was informed by research into peer institutions and similar archival projects. Creative Repute analyzed platforms like StoryCorps, the Smithsonian, and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting to understand how these systems are structured and maintained.

WordPress was selected as the core CMS because it offers a balance between flexibility and accessibility for non-technical teams. As development progressed, the team made careful decisions to prioritize performance and stability. While drag-and-drop builders were considered early on, the project ultimately moved toward a more structured development approach that reduced the risk of future issues and ensured long-term reliability.

This included using custom fields for content structure, limiting unnecessary plugin bloat, and focusing on systems that would remain maintainable as the site grows.

To support clarity across a multi-stakeholder project, we also implemented a DARCI framework to track decisions, roles, responsibilities, and timelines, ensuring alignment between Creative Repute, WYSO, and HBCU RPP throughout the process.

Empowering the Client Through Training

A major focus of this project was ensuring that HBCU RPP could manage and expand the website independently. The platform was built not just to function, but to be used.

Creative Repute provided ongoing tutorials and documentation to guide the team through managing their content. This included how to upload and organize audio, update station profiles, publish blog posts, manage events, and use templates without breaking the design.

This approach aligned directly with the project’s mission of education and capacity building. Rather than creating a system that required constant external support, the goal was to empower the client to take ownership of the platform and continue building on it.

Designing With Integrity

Throughout the project, design decisions were grounded in the values of the organizations involved. One moment that stands out involved the consideration of editing a banner image using AI for visual clarity. The decision was made to leave the image unchanged in order to align with journalistic standards and maintain authenticity.

This reflects a broader principle that guided the work. The platform represents real histories, real communities, and real people. Preserving that integrity is part of the responsibility.

The Outcome

The HBCU Radio Preservation Project website is a dynamic, scalable platform that supports preservation, education, and storytelling across a national network of institutions.

It provides a clear entry point into HBCU radio history while offering multiple ways to explore, learn, and engage. The system supports both public-facing experiences and internal workflows, allowing the HBCU RPP team to continue documenting their work, expanding their reach, and sharing stories in a meaningful way.

Rather than functioning as a static archive, the platform reflects the ongoing nature of the project itself. It captures the work as it happens, connects audiences to stories that might otherwise remain hidden, and creates a foundation that can continue to grow over time.

Closing

This project required us to move beyond conventional web design and build a system that could support long-term cultural work. By grounding every decision in the project’s mission and the realities of how it will be used, we created a platform that is both technically sound and deeply intentional.

If your organization is managing complex content, working across multiple audiences, or building something meant to last, Creative Repute is ready to help you do it with clarity and purpose.

Get in touch with us to start the conversation.