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Project Breakdown:
The Biggar Independent
Built out a newspaper website for a local client in my hometown of Biggar. Site included loads of functionality and was designed with intent for daily and weekly updates. Click the button to view their site or scroll to check out the project details.
Note: This site is managed by the client. Pages, images, and text may not appear as pictured in the screenshots.
Stage 1 - Discovery
I was contacted by the new owner of a local printing/publishing company because he was interested in having their current website updated. As an entrepreneur himself for many, many, years, Dale has a very good idea of what he wanted and the direction he was looking to go with this new digital business development. We were able to quickly move onto planning.
Stage 2 - Planning
Once our initial talks had concluded, Dale and I had a strong understanding that this relationship was going to be beneficial for both of us and we began planning out concepts for the new site. Dale was interested in having an easier avenue for readers to subscribe and read the paper online, manage their account, and have a more automated process throughout. He also wanted online Classifieds (Obituaries, Events, Employment, Etc,) and the ability to make changes to website content as he needed.
Stage 3 - Learning & Development
To date, this project was the most daunting task I have completed. It involved a lot of moving parts and I wanted to ensure the finished product was one that would be easy to maintain and update. I reached out to a few colleagues in the design/development space and bounced my ideas off of them as I began developing. As design & development progressed, I worked with Dale to make some other ideas he had come to life (like the Garage Sale section, where he could list items for sale).
Stage 4 - Design Completed
As the new site began to wrap up and the finishing touches were added to the design, Dale and I began work in-person to get the subscription service setup, payment gateway linked, and the domain transferred over. We ran into some issues with the domain transfer, but solved those issues easily once we moved them over to my usual registrar, Namecheap.
Stage 5 - Testing & Going Live
Once we were both confident in the design and functionality of the new site, Dale and I began testing to ensure everything worked as it was intended. At this time, I also taught Dale and his team how to edit website content, publish their paper online, add Classifieds, and manage the Garage Sale section. As we launched, Dale transferred over all of his existing subscribers to the new site and we started accepting new subscribers.
Design & Development Tools
To ensure scalability and the addition of future ideas Dale has for the online presence of his publishing company, I chose to develop the new website on WordPress. As one of the most widely used content management systems, WordPress has tens thousands of plugins and integrations and is a top-standard in website design. The site was designed using the ThriveSuite of plugins with added functionality being provided by plugins like Restrict Content Pro, Custom Post Type UI, and Advanced Custom Fields.
Project Screenshots
