Miami Literary Society

Miami Literary Society

Website Redesign, CMS Rebuild, Nonprofit Platform Transition, Membership Integration, Shopping Cart & Event Registration, Database Transfer, Email & Newsletter Integration, Branding Update, Technical Support, Platform Training

Overview

The Miami Literary Society (formerly known as the Brickell Avenue Literary Society and the Brickell Literary Society)—is a Miami-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering cultural and intellectual enrichment through literature-focused events and author engagements. With an audience skewing 60+, the organization needed a more accessible and modern website to meet the expectations of current and prospective members while supporting robust backend functionality.
HypeSmack was initially hired to integrate their Wild Apricot site with WordPress, but after evaluating the limitations of the platform, we recommended migrating the site to Wix. This move not only enabled a full redesign with stronger UX and cleaner design elements but also reduced their hosting costs by 70% through a verified nonprofit plan, potentially saving them thousands of dollars in the next few years.

Where Literature Comes to Life

Where Literature Comes to Life

The Challenge

While Wild Apricot offered strong backend features for nonprofits, its design capabilities were outdated—creating a dated online experience that failed to reflect the sophistication of the Society’s mission and audience. They were also running into platform limitations related to layout flexibility, user experience, and content organization.

With a rebrand on the horizon and an upcoming membership season, the Society needed to modernize the user interface, maintain (and even enhance) their core functionalities, and improve digital communications—all while preparing to relaunch as the Miami Literary Society.

Our Approach

We began by helping the organization apply and qualify for Wix’s nonprofit hosting, reducing their annual costs by two-thirds. After acquiring a new domain, we fully rebuilt their website from the ground up—preserving critical functions like event registration, membership tiers, shopping cart, and newsletter access, while improving visual clarity and usability.

To support their older audience, we used a clean and legible design system with larger fonts, minimal animation, and intuitive navigation. We also refreshed their logo, updating the name and typeface for better readability while keeping brand consistency intact.

We transferred and restructured their membership database, recreated the backend functionality on Wix, and archived past newsletters for historical reference. We also ensured their new CMS could support future events, email marketing, and transactional communications, while setting the stage for internal team training and ongoing technical support.

Key Results

  • Annual Cost Savings: Reduced hosting expenses by 70% annually, through a Wix nonprofit offering, saving thousands of dollars over the next few years.
  • Modernized Website: Delivered an elegant, functional redesign optimized for a 40+ audience.
  • Rebrand Support: Updated logo and domain to align with the Society’s transition from Brickell to Miami Literary Society.
  • Strategic CMS Migration: Successfully transitioned membership tiers, events, archived newsletters, and user database into Wix. While some features required adaptation, the new platform delivers significant cost savings and improved design flexibility without compromising essential functionality.
  • Enhanced Functionality: Replaced antiquated tools with modern equivalents in Wix while maintaining core operational needs.
  • Ongoing Support: Preparing for platform training, additional database migration, and seasonal content updates.

A Community for Miami’s Scholarly and Curious

Conclusion

Our partnership with the Miami Literary Society demonstrates how thoughtful platform selection and design adaptation can modernize a legacy nonprofit organization without compromising functionality. By guiding the transition from Wild Apricot to Wix, we delivered a more visually appealing, user-friendly website tailored to their mature membership base—while reducing their annual hosting costs by over 70%. Though the systems required adjustment to match previous capabilities, the trade-off resulted in better aesthetics, improved usability, and long-term savings. Our ongoing work continues to support their digital transformation as they grow into their next chapter as the Miami Literary Society.