Got to lead the full redesign of KQBHLA.com, the online home of KQBH 101.5 FM—a hyper-local community radio station broadcasting live from Boyle Heights, CA.

The ask from the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) was to modernize the station’s digital presence and make it easier for listeners to stream live, explore the growing lineup of 70+ weekly shows, and stay connected to local events. The old site wasn’t mobile-friendly, had no reliable live schedule integration, and made it tough for the team to keep things updated.

I co-led creative direction and handled everything from UX strategy and UI design to full stack development. We built the new site on WordPress using Elementor Pro and set up the CMS to make it easy for the BHAC team to update shows, events, and content on the fly—no code required. We also designed a modular, mobile-first system that could scale as the station grows.

We started with the Pro.Radio theme as a foundation since it offered solid radio-specific functionality, but ended up customizing the heck out of it—refining layout, styling, filtering logic, and the overall UX to better fit the needs of KQBH’s alternating show schedule, community vibe, and mobile audience.

One of the biggest challenges was figuring out how to show what was playing live—especially with a schedule that changes week to week. We built a custom “Now Playing / Up Next” system and integrated it into the sticky nav at the top of the site. We also set up automation using Make.com to dynamically toggle between odd and even week show lineups—so the client doesn’t have to manually update anything week to week.

We also made sure the player doesn’t restart every time you click around. AJAX-based navigation keeps the stream going while you explore the rest of the site.

The end result is a site that reflects the energy of the station and gives listeners a much smoother experience—whether they’re tuning in on desktop or mobile, finding a new show to check out, or signing up to volunteer. Since launch, site traffic is up 266%, and average session duration has more than doubled—proof that the new experience is not only working, but keeping people tuned in.

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Team:
Mike Orduna - Creative Direction/Co-Creative Lead, Art Direction, UX/UI Design
Stephanie Monte - Operations Manager
Carmelita Sanchez - Station Director
Michael Beserra - Station Coordinator
Melina Aguliar - Site Coordinator