Overview
The Sports Media Magazine Company has been in the publishing business since 1995.
With the ever changing landscape of publishing they deciding it was time to pivot the business to not only offer a print subscription but also a enriched web/ mobile experience.
Last year they begin offering a web PDF version of their various sport magazine products but it lacked the interactive capabilities of a real website and had limited possibilities for growth, or SEO.
Phase 1 - Design and Architecture
We designed an updated version of the website that was based on modern web standards and included planning that would cover a broad range of magazines. The design was mobile friendly, and flexible.
We created a WordPress Multisite as the starting framework for them to develop their network of sites.
early design mockups to start to work toward the design they wanted to present
Phase 2 - Site Development and E-commerce
We built a membership solution centered around WooCommerce, Subscriptions, and content management. The theme was developed as a Genesis Child Theme to give maximum flexibility and ROI for current and future customization. All built on WordPress multisite, giving a singular site interface for management of all publishing and allowing consistency across the sports media publishing network. Built and hosted on WPEngine for reliable scalability.
The Solution
Have their project developed on WordPress Multi-site for multiple versions of the same layout/features with completely unique content. By doing this they can have a custom theme that would be easy for them to "turnkey" each brand without the need to have an entire development team for each website. But also gives them easily one place to manage their WordPress install and plugins to keep each website uniform and easy to roll out new features that every brand will need.
They wanted to be able to have a management membership system to deliver digital and still have the ability to have people sign up for their print magazine and have it all managed in one place. WooCommerce handles all of the E-commerce functionality needed to keep the purchasing process simple and self managed.
With their last system they were using, it was a website that was fashioned as a web pdf magazine, so that ability for custom linking, web only content, and personal meta data was virtually impossible. By changing the way they put content on the web with a standard website they could improve meta data functionality for individual articles/videos/PDFs ,Access/Paywall control for content.
Improved Analyltics
Added Conversion and Revenue Tracking that allows the Sports Media Magazine Company to trace where their customers come from in regards to search and other referral.
Restoration and monitoring of their legacy backlinks
Search engine index monitoring to measure increase in exposure
Social media conversion tracking
Priority on Mobility
The website was built with a mobile first approach making it easier to the content to be consumed by mobile devices.
Based on their traffic numbers mobile first had to be a priority, so it was important that not only was consumer management of their products important but it needed to be easy for people to find and read articles from their mobile devices.
This change also brings the Sports Media Magazine Company inline with Google's Mobile Index Update
Using the Power of WordPress
Building the site on WordPress gives the Sports Media Magazine Company the power to update their own content without having to rely on a 3rd party to adjust or update their content.
WordPress also empowers them to take advantage of open source code, and focus on creating great content.
Why WooCommerce Works
WooCommerce empowers the Sports Media Magazine Company to have customers do more of their own account management, and keeps the purchasing process fast, simple, and efficient.
The Results
Organic Page Views
User Growth
Organic Search Referrals
These results are based on analytics for this website, there is no guarantee of these results for other projects.
