A platform for the cultural sector can't stand still. Audience expectations shift, new technologies emerge, accessibility requirements tighten, and the tools venues need today aren't the same as five years ago.
That's why we've been hearing you say you need wayfinding for your venue. And custom date ranges for festival programming. And better ticketing integrations. These aren't support tickets. They're the ideas that shape where the platform goes next.
It's an approach that's seen us work with Theater de Veste for 25 years – not through rebuilds, but through continuous evolution. And it's what we're building toward for every organisation in our Community.
This year, our R&D team shipped 16 releases to 120+ cultural organisations across eight countries. Six new faces joined the team, 11 new venues came on board, and 19 features were sponsored by Community members from Antwerp to Omaha.
Here's what that looked like.
An evolving CMS that makes website management easier
The most significant shift this year: a complete reimagining of how cultural marketing teams interact with their websites. What began with a handful of redesigned modules has grown into a transformed content management experience – now 60% complete, with full migration expected in 2026.
- New dashboard design – Completely redesigned interface with improved navigation and styling, rolling out progressively across all modules
- Page Part Builder – Intuitive parameter editor bringing all settings directly into the CMS; no more hunting through documentation
- Unified Pages & Stories – All content in a single module with smart filtering, plus page duplication to copy entire pages with all content and settings intact
- Tabbed organisation – Content-heavy modules now organised into tabs for easier navigation
- Custom show messaging – Add bespoke messages to individual productions, perfect for sponsor acknowledgements, content warnings, or pre-show information
Wayfinding: from one venue's need to platform-wide capability
One of the year's standout developments began when Orpheus needed a way to help visitors navigate their venue using existing screens. Rather than commissioning a bespoke solution, they sponsored the development of a platform-wide Wayfinding module on Peppered – a complete venue navigation system that any organisation in our Community can now use.
That's the multiplier effect of sponsored development. Orpheus got exactly what they needed, and 120+ other venues gained access to a capability that would have been out of reach individually. One investment, sector-wide benefit.
- Browser-based – Works with existing screens, no specialist hardware required
- Live event integration – Pulls event data directly from Yesplan, combining real-time scheduling with directional guidance
- Refined through real-world use – Four subsequent releases shaped by in-venue testing with Orpheus
Shaped by the sector
Wayfinding isn't a one-off. Throughout the year, venues across our Community brought us their challenges – and every solution became a platform capability available to all. Thank you to every organisation that shaped the platform this year.
Here's what that looked like in 2025:
Two larger sponsored projects also moved the platform forward: Publiq funded our Event API and CRM API and Vriendenloterij integration brought new member validation capabilities.\
The work you don't see
Not everything that matters shows up on screen. Some of the most important work happens in the infrastructure that keeps sites fast, secure, and reliable.
Queue & performance
- 70% hosting capacity increase – our websites now handle more visitors with fewer slowdowns during peak demand
- Smarter bot protection and better allow list and block list management
- Improved session handling for high-demand on-sales
- New Queue messages module with multiple simultaneous messages
Email deliverability
- Stronger email security – Enhanced authentication (DANE support) to protect against spoofing
- Better inbox delivery – Improved DNS/SPF/DKIM validation so your emails reach subscribers, not spam folders
- Large list support – Background processing handles big mailing lists without timeouts
Platform foundations
- Merging of legacy visitor classes
- New messenger/scheduler system replacing legacy tools
- Template text caching improvements
- Webhook and email handling refactors
- Screenshot comparison tooling for quality assurance
URL structure & SEO
A complete overhaul of how URLs work across the platform – protecting your search rankings while giving you more control.
- Custom slugs for all content types: Courses, People, Productions, Themes, Pages, Stories
- Multilingual URL prefixes across all languages
- Automatic redirects protecting SEO value when content moves
- New redirect module with comprehensive URL management
Marketing & segmentation
Query Builder gained substantial new capabilities for smarter audience targeting.
- Visitor tag assignment – Categorise query results for future targeting
- Sent mailing filters – Target based on who clicked, bounced, or didn't engage
- Combo queries – Combine multiple queries to expand or narrow audiences
- Enhanced analytics – Encrypted personal details in dataLayer, GA4 ecommerce expansion, genre and status tracking, subsite analytics
Accessibility
Accessibility is about reaching audiences who might otherwise be excluded, and ensuring venue teams with accessibility needs can manage their websites effectively. That's why it's been a continuous focus rather than a one-off project.
Working with Digitaal Toegankelijk, the Netherlands' leading digital accessibility experts, we conducted a full WCAG-EM audit of our platform, then implemented improvements across every site:
For visitors:
- Skiplinks for keyboard navigation
- Accessible modals for newsletters, waiting lists, and wishlists
- Improved focus indicators and form guidance
- Gallery zoom buttons for keyboard users
- Heading structure improvements
- Enhanced screen reader support throughout
- Improved carousel navigation
For venue teams:
- Improved keyboard navigation across the CMS
- Better screen reader support in the dashboard
- Clearer focus states and form labelling
We also extended this partnership to offer Community members cost-effective content and design audits for their own sites – we estimate around 90% savings compared to standalone audits – with Wilminktheater as our pilot partner.
These improvements rolled out automatically across every site. And when the European Accessibility Act deadline arrived this year, our Community was already prepared. We'll continue building on this in 2026 and beyond – accessibility is an ongoing commitment, not a one-off project.
Purchase path & ticketing
Improvements across the visitor journey, from browsing to buying.
- Apple & Google Wallet – Tickets in visitors' digital wallets
- Cost explainer – Now visible in all event overviews, not just detail pages
- Smart cross-sell timing – Set cut-off times to stop selling add-ons before events (e.g. no dinner offers within an hour of curtain up)
- Dynamic barcodes – Secure tickets for Itix (developed in collaboration with Schouwburg De Lawei)
Ticketing system integration upgrades
- Spektrix: Basket counter, donation upsell parts with parameter editor, view-from-seat
- Ticketmatic: Full voucher details display
- Stager: Full event import
- Tessitura: Fulltext field import, keyword filtering in event updater
- All ticketing systems: Support for direct links between CMS and box office
AI, thoughtfully applied
AI capabilities arrived this year, but we're approaching them carefully – augmenting what venue teams do, not replacing human judgment.
- AI text editor – Summarising, translating, and creating content variations
- AI content feed – Powering integrations with conversational AI platforms like Satisfi Labs, so your CMS content can surface through natural visitor interactions
- Satisfi Labs partnership – Co-op Live in Manchester is already using this integration to handle visitor enquiries at scale, with website content automatically powering chat responses
We're researching applications, evaluating models, and developing practices that align with our values – and we'll share that thinking with the Community as it develops.
The numbers
What's coming in 2026
The work doesn't stop when the calendar turns. Part of our job is looking around corners and anticipating what venues will need before it becomes urgent, so our Community is always prepared for what's next.
Reimagined purchase path (40% complete): New designs finalised, front-end builds underway. First beta test expected in the second half of 2026 including refinements to seatmaps.
Elasticsearch integration (10% complete): Powering website search before presale season 2026, bringing faster performance and stability during peak traffic. Fuzzy search and enhanced filtering to follow.
New queueing system (20% complete): Standalone service with improved scheduling options and dashboard features, expected before presale season.
New CMS completion: Remaining standard modules migrating in 2026. Complex modules like Mailings and Narrowcasting on their own timelines – including plans to integrate Narrowcasting into Wayfinding.
AI development: Continued research into applications that align with our values, with transparency about our approach.
The show continues
Traditional website projects have a beginning and an end. You build, you launch, you maintain until it's time to rebuild.
Platform development works differently. Your website evolves continuously. New capabilities arrive without migration projects. Security and accessibility improvements roll out automatically. Features sponsored by one venue benefit everyone. The rebuild cycle breaks.
That's what 2025 represented: not a single moment of transformation, but a year of continuous forward movement. Sixteen releases. Over a thousand improvements. A platform shaped by the cultural organisations it serves.
The curtain comes down on 2025, but there's no intermission. The next release is already in progress.
Let’s get this show on the road
No matter what stage you're at in your search for the perfect web platform or digital marketing tool for your venue, we'll help you get the information you need.
- Want to see how Peppered works?
We’re proud of how easy we make it for venues to manage their website. That’s why live event venues around the world trust Peppered. Book a personalised demo. - Looking to partner with us?
If you’re a technology provider, design agency or supplier for the arts and culture sector, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us here. - Want to learn more about digital tools for venues?
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