Case Study · B2B Publishing and Events · Bespoke Web Platform
Machine Building Live
How we built a bespoke event website and lead management back-office for The Engineering Network Ltd, one of the UK's leading B2B publishers in the engineering and manufacturing sector.
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The Engineering Network Ltd: a B2B publisher launching a new event
The Engineering Network Ltd are one of the UK's leading B2B publishers in the engineering and manufacturing sector, producing titles including MachineBuilding.net, Industrial Technology, and FasteningandBonding.net. When they decided to launch Machine Building Live as a one-day event bringing industry professionals and technology suppliers together, they needed a platform built specifically for that purpose.
Generic event platforms were considered and dismissed. The Engineering Network needed something that reflected their brand, gave them full control over the exhibitor and attendee experience, and connected registrations directly into a manageable back-office workflow. Off-the-shelf event tools would have required fitting their process around someone else's system.
What a bespoke event platform needed to do
Machine Building Live was a new event with no existing audience and no platform. Everything needed to be built from scratch, and it needed to do several things well simultaneously.
Drive exhibitor bookings
The commercial model depended on exhibitor sign-ups. The site needed to communicate the value of the event clearly, build credibility fast, and make it straightforward for companies to register their interest.
Manage both attendee and exhibitor registrations
Two distinct audiences with different registration requirements, different follow-up workflows, and different information needs. One platform had to serve both cleanly.
Perform fast on every device
A slow site at an event launch kills credibility before anyone reads the content. Performance wasn't a nice-to-have. Every build decision was made with page speed in mind from the outset.
Give the client full content control
The Engineering Network needed to update the site themselves as the event evolved, without developer involvement for every content change. A CMS-driven build was essential.
Connect registrations to a manageable workflow
Every registration had to land in a back-office system where the team could see, manage, and follow up on leads immediately. No manual data transfers, no missed enquiries.
Reflect the brand credibility of an established publisher
Machine Building Live was a new event, but The Engineering Network had years of industry credibility behind it. The platform needed to look the part from day one.
A purpose-built event platform with a back-office that actually works
We built a bespoke website and back-office system from the ground up, designed specifically around the needs of Machine Building Live and the workflows of The Engineering Network team.
Built for conversion, built for speed
The front end was built with performance as a primary constraint. Sponsor logo carousels were implemented in CSS rather than JavaScript, eliminating render-blocking scripts and keeping load times down. The navigation system uses a combination of a fixed bar and a sticky bar to meet the client's specific UX requirement without compromising performance or resorting to heavy JavaScript solutions.
Every page is CMS-driven, giving The Engineering Network team full control over event content, schedule updates, exhibitor listings, and resource downloads without needing to come back to us for routine changes.
CMS-driven front end
All content managed through a custom CMS, combining PHP with HTML markup. Event details, schedule, exhibitor listings, resource downloads, and venue information all editable by the client team without developer involvement.
Dual registration workflows
Separate registration journeys for attendees and exhibitors, each with appropriate information capture, confirmation flow, and routing into the back-office system for follow-up by the event team.
Lead management back-office
Every registration creates a lead in the backend immediately, with the site manager alerted so no follow-up opportunity is missed. The team has a clear view of all attendee and exhibitor registrations in one place.
Performance-first build
Sponsor carousel built in CSS rather than JavaScript. Sticky navigation implemented without heavy library dependencies. Google Analytics for conversion tracking, Google Captcha for spam prevention, Google Maps for venue display.
Fully responsive design
Built to work cleanly across all devices. Industry professionals looking at the site on mobile at a conference or trade show get the same experience as someone on a desktop in their office.
What we built and how
Performance-first, bespoke from the ground up
The build used PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and jQuery on a Bootstrap framework, with MySQLi for data storage. Every component was chosen for a reason: no bloated frameworks, no off-the-shelf event platform forcing compromises.
- PHP and HTML front end with CMS-driven content throughout
- CSS-only sponsor carousel for maximum performance
- Fixed and sticky navigation bars meeting exact client UX requirements
- Dual registration forms: attendee and exhibitor with distinct workflows
- MySQLi back-office with real-time lead capture and manager alerts
- Google Analytics integration for traffic and conversion tracking
- Google reCAPTCHA for spam prevention on all forms
- Google Maps embedded for venue display
- Fully responsive across all device sizes
What The Engineering Network got
A platform that works exactly the way they needed it to, owned by them and built for the long term.
A conversion-focused event platform
The site was designed from the ground up to drive exhibitor bookings and attendee registrations, with clear pathways, strong presentation, and a frictionless registration experience.
Full lead visibility from day one
Every registration lands in the back-office immediately. The event team has a complete, real-time view of their pipeline with no manual data transfers or missed follow-ups.
A fast site that reflects industry credibility
Performance-first build decisions mean the site loads quickly and performs well on all devices. For a new event in a competitive sector, first impressions matter.
Content independence
The Engineering Network team manage all event content themselves through the CMS. Schedule changes, exhibitor updates, resource additions with no developer needed for routine updates.
A platform they own outright
No dependency on an event platform vendor, no licence fees, no risk if a third-party platform changes its terms or pricing. Everything built belongs to The Engineering Network.
Built to run year after year
The architecture was designed for a recurring event, not a one-off launch. Content, registrations, and exhibitor listings can be refreshed each year without rebuilding the platform.
What Our Clients Say About Us
“I have been working with the team at Dev Partners for the last 3 years and we have always been impressed with the speed in which they act on things for us, along with the honest open communication we have between us. The team are a valuable and vital part of our supply chain and we look forward to continuing to work together for many years to come.”
Dev Partners and the publishing sector
The Engineering Network is one of a number of publishers and media businesses we've built bespoke software and platforms for over the years.
Telegraph Media Group
Custom software built for one of the UK's largest national newspaper publishers.
Hearst Communications
Bespoke development for one of the world's largest magazine publishers.
The Engineering Network Ltd
Event platform and back-office for a specialist B2B publisher with multiple industry titles.
Want something similar for your business?
The Machine Building Live project draws on our web development, CMS, and custom back-office capabilities. If any of these match what you're looking for, let's talk.
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Whether you need an event platform, a lead management system, a CMS-driven website, or a back-office that connects your registrations and enquiries into a manageable workflow, we'll give you a straight assessment of what it would take and what it would cost.
What we'll cover:
- What you're trying to build and who it needs to serve
- How the front end and back-office would work together
- CMS requirements and content management workflow
- Realistic build cost, timeline, and what you'd own at the end
- Whether we're the right fit, or who might serve you better
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