Microsoft publishes news for dozens of countries every day. When the company decided its newsroom should run on an open platform it fully controlled, Brian led the relaunch from first sketch to long term support: design, data migration, a custom theme and a set of purpose built plugins. The new News Center went live on WordPress in late 2014, and WordPress.org later added it to its official showcase.
The challenge
Close to ten years of press releases, features and media lived in a proprietary content system spread across 38 separate country and language sites. Every change depended on that vendor. Microsoft wanted publishing independence, a design that respected its strict brand standards, and storytelling tools flexible enough for editors in every market.
The approach
Design inside the brand rules
The layout came out of several weeks of working sessions with Microsoft's creative team, so every template matched corporate guidelines before a line of theme code was written. Pages were built mobile first so readers get the same experience on a phone, tablet or desktop.
One WordPress Multisite network
Instead of 38 disconnected installs, every regional newsroom became a site inside a single WordPress Multisite network. Editors keep their own site, language and content, while one codebase, one set of plugins and one update cycle serve them all. A custom migration carried roughly a decade of past stories from every site into the network. If you are weighing this model, see when WordPress Multisite makes sense.
Translation ready from day one
All theme and plugin strings were written to be translated, and language packs for the 16 languages were produced together with Microsoft's localization teams.
Tools built for a newsroom
- A featured hero grid that editors rearrange directly on the front end.
- Media galleries readers can filter by photo or video.
- Single sign on, so staff log in with their Microsoft accounts.
- Custom search, filtering and interactive timelines.
- A long form story builder using custom post types and fields: editors pick content blocks and drag them into order, with no developer needed.
Screenshots
The outcome
Microsoft gained full control of its newsroom publishing in every market, on one platform instead of a closed system. Brian's team stayed on for ongoing support, editor training and new features. The project became the anchor for a wider family of Microsoft properties on WordPress, covered in Microsoft on WordPress. For the migration side of work like this, read consolidating legacy CMS sites into WordPress Multisite.
Stack
WordPress Multisite, custom theme, custom plugins, Microsoft account single sign on, localization in 16 languages.
