Photo database for De Stadskerk
Scalable storage of thousands of photos, seamlessly displayed on the site and in Mijn Stadskerk
The challenge
Over the years, De Stadskerk had collected more than forty thousand photos in an outdated photo system that was no longer up to the task. The system became slow, could not endlessly scale, and was hard to share between multiple employees. They needed a new solution with unlimited storage capacity, smooth performance with multiple colleagues working at the same time, a smooth migration from the old system, and the ability to display photos directly on the Stadskerk website and in the Mijn Stadskerk portal.
Our solution
We set up a dedicated photo database based on Chevereto, an open source platform for managing large amounts of imagery. The actual files are written to scalable storage and served through a dedicated CDN domain, so the website stays fast no matter how many photos or visitors there are. For the editorial team, that means uploading and categorizing without limits.
Migration of more than forty thousand photos
For the transition, we wrote migration scripts that move the entire old archive to the new database. Albums, dates, photographers and file structures were all carried over neatly, so De Stadskerk did not lose any historical context. The migration was carried out in phases, allowing the editorial team to barely notice the transition.
Seamlessly displayed on the Stadskerk site
For website integration, we built a custom WordPress plugin. With a simple shortcode, editors can place a specific album on a page, or display multiple albums at once with automatic search and filter capabilities. For each album, the photographer, description and dates are pulled in automatically, so an album page is rich and informative right away.
The impact
De Stadskerk now has a photo database that can run for years to come, with direct and fast display on the website. Employees work side by side in the same environment without slowdowns, and visitors can browse the photo archives at the speed they expect from a modern site. The editorial workflow has become a lot simpler, and the years of community visual history have been fully preserved.
Why this project stands out
The strength is in the combination of:
A dedicated Chevereto photo database with scalable CDN storage
Migration of more than forty thousand photos, including metadata and album structure
Custom WordPress plugin for single and multi-album shortcodes
Fast, infinitely scalable and ready for the years ahead
A lot of media to manage?
We set up scalable media environments that run fast, last for years and integrate neatly with your site or app.