Behind the Mic: Building the Online Presence of Djerid FM

Houssem charfeddine | Mar 11, 2015 min read

🎙️ Djerid FM Online Radio

When I was approached to help take Djerid FM, a local radio station, online, I knew it would be more than just a website project. The goal was to create a platform capable of streaming live audio, hosting content, and presenting a professional face for the station — all while being user-friendly and accessible to the local community.

Together with a colleague, we dove into the technical and creative process of enabling real-time radio broadcasting over the web.


🧠 What I Learned

🔧 Technical Challenges

We had to navigate a range of technical requirements:

  • Choosing the right streaming server (Icecast in my case)
  • Embedding live audio players with cross-browser compatibility
  • Ensuring uptime reliability despite limited hosting resources
  • Creating an admin-friendly backend for uploading programs and updating schedules

🎨 Design Meets Function

Balancing visual identity with functionality was key. We focused on:

  • Clean UI for browsing shows and listening live
  • Arabic language support and RTL layout integration
  • Responsive design for mobile users

💡 Key Takeaways

  • Streaming is all about consistency: Buffering issues taught us a lot about bandwidth and encoding optimization.
  • User experience matters: Making it easy for users to “press play and listen” was as important as the tech stack behind it.
  • Community-focused design: We weren’t just building for users — we were building for a region, for a voice.

🚀 Final Thoughts

Working on Djerid FM was more than a technical project — it was a cultural contribution. Helping a local radio station extend its reach online taught me how technology can amplify stories, voices, and local identity.

This project solidified my passion for bridging real-world needs with digital solutions, especially in contexts where impact reaches beyond the screen.

Studio picture