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Hyperlocal News Platform Transformation
Redesigning and rebuilding two digital news platforms to improve usability, content discoverability, advertising readiness, and long-term scalability.
As part of a digital transformation initiative, I was tasked with rebuilding two hyperlocal news platforms—Orange Farm News and Globe Post.
The project involved more than a visual refresh. The objective was to modernise the publishing experience, improve content discovery, strengthen advertising opportunities, and create a scalable foundation capable of supporting future growth.
Understanding the Requirements
The project began with a detailed review of existing websites, stakeholder requirements, publishing workflows, and business objectives.
Several opportunities for improvement were identified, including navigation clarity, content hierarchy, mobile usability, advertising placement, category structures, and overall user experience.
The objective was to create digital news platforms that would support readers, publishers, advertisers, and content contributors while maintaining the unique identity of each publication.
Information Architecture
The first stage of the project focused on establishing a clear information architecture for both publications. As the platforms would serve as the primary source of local news for their communities, it was important to organise content in a way that supported intuitive navigation while remaining scalable as new categories and stories were introduced.
Working from the project requirements, I mapped the overall site structure, defining the relationships between key pages, editorial sections, category hubs, and supporting content. This process provided a blueprint that guided the design and implementation of both websites while ensuring a consistent experience for readers and content editors.
By establishing a clear site hierarchy early in the project, the platforms were better equipped to support content discovery, editorial workflows, and future growth.
Content Strategy & Category Architecture
With the overall site architecture established, the next step was organising editorial content into meaningful categories that reflected both reader interests and publishing priorities.
Rather than simply grouping articles by topic, the category structure was designed to improve discoverability, support consistent navigation, and create dedicated landing pages capable of showcasing related stories, featured content, and advertising opportunities.
This structured approach ensured that readers could move naturally between topics while providing editors with a flexible framework for managing large volumes of content.
Homepage Experience & Wireframing
With the information architecture and content strategy established, the next stage focused on planning the homepage experience for both publications.
As the primary entry point for readers, the homepage needed to balance editorial priorities, breaking news, featured stories, advertising opportunities, and community content without overwhelming users. The wireframing process allowed different layout approaches to be explored before development, ensuring that important information remained easy to find while supporting a smooth reading experience across all devices.
Special attention was given to content hierarchy, allowing readers to quickly identify the day’s most important stories while encouraging further exploration through featured categories, trending articles, and related content.
The wireframes also helped validate layout decisions with stakeholders before implementation, reducing revisions during development and providing a clear blueprint for the final WordPress build.
Reader Journey & Content Flow
A successful news platform is not defined only by its layout—it is defined by how easily readers can move through content and continue discovering relevant stories.
After the homepage wireframes were established, I mapped the reader journey to understand how users would progress from entry points such as the homepage, category pages, social media links, and search results into deeper areas of the platform.
The goal was to create a content flow that encouraged natural exploration while reducing friction between key sections of the website. This involved planning pathways between featured stories, category landing pages, individual articles, related content modules, and engagement opportunities such as social sharing and newsletter sign-ups.
By designing these journeys before development, both platforms were able to support stronger content discoverability, longer browsing sessions, and a more intuitive reading experience across desktop and mobile devices.
Platform Development & Implementation
With the planning and user experience foundations established, the project moved into the implementation phase, where the approved concepts were transformed into fully functional digital publishing platforms.
Using WordPress, I rebuilt both Orange Farm News and Globe Post, translating the wireframes, content architecture, and user journeys into responsive websites designed to support the day-to-day demands of modern news publishing. Every component was developed with usability, editorial efficiency, and long-term scalability in mind.
The implementation focused on creating flexible page structures, reusable content templates, intuitive navigation, and responsive layouts that delivered a consistent reading experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Careful attention was also given to performance, accessibility, and search engine optimisation to ensure the platforms were well positioned for both readers and publishers.
Project Outcome
The project successfully transformed two hyperlocal news websites into modern digital publishing platforms designed to support readers, editors, and advertisers.
By combining user experience planning, information architecture, and WordPress implementation, the rebuilt platforms provide a scalable foundation for ongoing content publishing while delivering a significantly improved reading experience across desktop and mobile devices.
The result is two websites that are easier to navigate, more flexible for editorial teams, and better equipped to support audience growth and future digital expansion.
My Contributions
UX Planning
Planning user journeys, content hierarchy, and navigation structures.
Information Architecture
Organising content into scalable editorial structures.
Wireframing
Planning and structuring layouts before development began.
WordPress Development
Building responsive news platforms from approved designs.
Content Strategy
Improving discoverability through structured categories and navigation.
Quality Assurance
Refining layouts and validating the experience across devices.
