Moving the Construction Materials Producers Association (BRA) website to WordPress

CREATING.LV built a new website and design for the Construction Materials Producers Association (BRA). Just as important a part of the project as the new design was moving the website to WordPress from a custom-built content management system, preserving and organising a large volume of existing data. The project was handed over in 2026.

The new site had to take over the content of the previous website and, at the same time, make it easier to find. It has three main parts, each with its own job: a news section for news, member profiles to present the association’s members, and a members-only section for registered users. The site is intended for the association’s everyday work and communication with members and the public.

CREATING.LV built the association’s new website and its design and moved the content from the previous website to WordPress. The project included:

• data migration from a custom-built CMS to WordPress;
• a news section with categories;
• member profile and portfolio entries — member profiles in Latvian and English;
• a members-only section with user access and a password creation link;
• a new design adapted to different devices;
• content management in WordPress.

The previous BRA website ran on a custom-built content management system. A custom-built system usually has its own data structure specific to it, so when moving, you have to decide for each type of content where it will sit on the new site. The data migration followed the new site’s structure — news and member information each in its own place.

The large volume of content was not simply copied over: during the move, the structure was also organised so that the content on the association’s new website is logically placed and easy to find. A data migration like this lets the association keep the information it has built up and continue working in the new system rather than starting the website from scratch. Existing content and new entries are managed in one WordPress environment.

A custom-built CMS can usually only be maintained and extended by its author or a small team of developers. WordPress is a widely used content management system with a standard admin environment, so maintaining the site is not tied to the author of one system. For the association’s staff, news, member entries and users are available in one admin panel, and new content can be added without programming knowledge.

The website has a news section in which the latest information is organised into categories. Categories help visitors find their way and the topic they need even when there is a lot of news. This matters for an industry association, because its news covers different topics, and visitors can open only the category that interests them rather than browsing the whole news archive. The migrated news and new posts are in one section, so the archive is available alongside the latest information.

Profile and portfolio entries with a description, contact details and related information were created for the association’s members. In the “Biedri” (Members) section they appear as member profiles in Latvian and English, so a foreign partner can also read a manufacturer’s description. A member can send a link to their profile to a partner in another country, and the partner sees the description and contacts in a language they understand. The portfolio entry adds a description of the member’s business to the contact details, so visitors learn not only how to contact the company but also what it does.

Member entries let the association show which companies make it up, and let visitors find the contacts of a specific manufacturer. Each member is a separate entry, so a new member can be added in WordPress as one more entry without changing the structure of the section itself. In the same way, an existing member’s description or contacts can be updated if something changes at the company.

An important part of the project was developing a protected section that only registered users can access. Access is with a username and password. The access path step by step:

• an account is created for a new user;
• the system automatically sends the user an individual link;
• the user creates a password themselves with this link;
• from then on, they log in with their username and password and see the restricted information.

This access path means the association does not have to come up with and send a password to each user: it creates the user, while the user chooses the password themselves. The members-only section provides controlled access to the association’s internal materials. It lets public information and materials intended only for registered users be kept on one site rather than sent separately by email. User accounts are managed in the WordPress admin, so if someone no longer needs access, their account can be disabled and the restricted materials are no longer available to that user.

A new design was created for the new website, and it is CREATING.LV’s work. The association’s website is adapted to different devices, so the news, member profiles and the members-only section can be used on both desktop and phone. In a responsive layout, the content and menu adapt to the screen width, so, for example, a member’s contacts can be found and opened on a phone without opening the site on a computer. The site footer says “Lapu uzbūvēja SIA CREATING.LV” (Site built by SIA CREATING.LV).

The website is built on WordPress, to which the content from the previous custom-built CMS was moved. News, member entries and members-only section users are managed in one admin environment. More about the platform in the article WordPress website development.

This kind of solution suits an association, society or industry organisation that has members, regular news and materials for its own users only. An association website with member profiles and a members-only section lets public information and materials for its own users be combined on one site.

It also suits an organisation whose site runs on a custom-built or outdated system and which needs to move its website to WordPress together with the content it has built up. About changing the address separately — in the article Moving a website to a new domain. More about building a new site on the page Website development for businesses.

• Website development
• Web design

2026

bra.lv

This portfolio entry reflects the solution as delivered at handover. The current website may have changed.