News publisher: bespoke WordPress theme from scratch

High-volume publishing, strict ad slots, and Core Web Vitals as a product requirement.

28 May 2021

Sector: Media / publishing

Focus: Website Design & Development, Custom WordPress theme

Situation

Off-the-shelf themes could not meet house rules for ad layout, and editors needed Gutenberg flexibility without breaking the visual system every time a story ran hot.

What we focused on

  • Custom theme: Block patterns and templates coded to the title, no page-builder ambiguity.
  • Ad layout: Fixed slots with CLS discipline, lazy loads coordinated with content.
  • Performance: Critical CSS and font strategy for article templates, LCP targets in CI.

Outcome

Stable ad yield alongside improved reader metrics, editorial could ship fast without layout roulette.

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