Case studies✦Plate IV of VI
Fig. I — The case file, 2016–2017
Eco .pt
A new digital media for economy and finance, built from the ground up with a strong identity and private backing — and handed over weeks ahead of the date it promised.
01 Overview
This new digital media specialises in economy and finance. It had a clear goal to reach in the market, a strong identity brand, and support from private investors — which is another way of saying the launch date was not going to move.
I was responsible for the backend: page templates, AJAX requests, social metrics and sharing, custom RSS feeds and custom meta fields — the machinery a newsroom leans on the day after launch, not the day of.
Clear goals per sprint, and a delivery date that arrived several weeks early. The second is a consequence of the first.— Studio note, on estimates
02 The work
Templates, functionally. Each card was implemented in performing parts and modular classes rather than one long template — so a card could be reused, measured, and replaced on its own.
The newsroom’s reach. AJAX requests, social metrics and sharing, custom RSS feeds, and custom meta fields — the surfaces by which the brand travelled past its own homepage.
Cache and search. I implemented cache objects, and queries that let the site use a search engine through ElasticPress. Worth recording honestly: the project later moved away from that solution.
Toolchain. Sass, Gulp, and FoundationPress barebones — conventional by choice, on a build with a fixed launch and no appetite for novelty in the pipeline.
03 The milestones
- Milestone I
Implementation
Divided into several sprints, which let the team progress against clear goals. Delivered ahead of time, anticipating the date by several weeks.
- Milestone II
Improvements and support
Ongoing support, and new features arriving with the growth of the editorial team and the expansion of the brand — more feeds, fixes, and the work of staying useful.
04 Outcomes
- Delivered ahead of schedule, by several weeks, across a sprint-based first milestone.
- Modular template classes — each card built in performing parts rather than one template.
- Custom RSS feeds, social metrics and sharing shipped with the editorial launch.
- Object caching and ElasticPress search integrated — and later replaced by the project.
- A second milestone for ongoing support, more feeds, and an editorial team that kept growing.