LexisNexis Web Services is a national resource for lawyers and law firms, providing online marketing, project management and business development consulting for nearly 3,000 law firm websites through its LawLinks product. Its legacy CMS was holding the business back.
The Brief: Thousands of Databases and Inconsistent Code
Every firm site had its own database, and years of work by different vendors left the code inconsistent. LexisNexis wanted modern technology that streamlined client support and made room for new features it could not add on the proprietary CMS.
What We Built: A Multisite Network and Migration Pipeline
- A WordPress Multisite network to run the entire LawLinks service.
- An automated pipeline that turned each legacy database export into a finished site on the network.
- A Genesis child theme for every firm, recreated from its live site, so clients kept their look.
- A branded master theme where firms control content, SEO, contact forms, office directions and more themselves.
From One .sql File to a Finished Site
All of the legacy databases shared the same schema, but nearly 3,000 separate databases still made the move a challenge. The custom migration script started with the .sql file for a single website and ended with all of its content on a new WordPress site in the multisite network.
Using the Genesis theme framework and page scraping, the team built a child theme for each migrated site, converting its existing look and feel into a WordPress theme. That was especially difficult because most legacy sites had been built by different vendors, so the code varied from site to site.
Why It Mattered: Faster, Cheaper Client Sites
Building and maintaining client sites became faster and cheaper, and firms update their own sites without breaking brand consistency. LexisNexis staff and their clients can both make changes with ease, without the inconsistency that came from hiring multiple vendors to alter each theme individually.
Technology Stack
- WordPress Multisite
- Genesis framework
- Automated SQL migration
- Page scraping
Project leadership by Brian Messenlehner, AlphaWeb founder.
Related: WordPress Multisite development, platform migrations, legacy CMS consolidation on Multisite, keeping SEO during a migration.
