A local newspaper was in need of some help technologically. They were running on a very old content management system that was really hindering their ability to adapt to the needs of their readers in an internet driven world. My business partner and I, Zack Gilbert, under the company we co-founded, Adams/Gilbert Co., approached them to see if we could help. This lead to a very large project that consisted of writing a custom content management system from scratch that would power their website, along with giving them a complete visual refresh that was done along side the redesign of their printed paper.

Close to a 12 month project, it ran the gamut of challenges and successes. With a very small team (just Zack and I), we were able to deliver to them a powerful CMS that did everything from mange their sitemap, to allow them to post articles and blogs, to giving them a full-featured events calendar, a restaurant and bar directory, a full community section with profiles, and groups, and forums, and much more.

It is one of the project I am most proud of because of what was required to make it a reality. My responsibilities were pretty extensive for this project. They included all the visual design, from the CMS, to the website, to the various templates and all their visual elements, along with project management and client relations. Zack was responsible for the engineering of the CMS from the ground up, along with the development of all the templates and integration of their database into our new system.

Overall, this project was very successful. The readership loved the new website and all its features, traffic has grown, ad revenue has grown, and we have continued to work with CITY on a number of projects. They have consistently been recognized as leaders in their industry for their progressive use of the internet to power their newspaper. They are one of the few that have truly embraced the medium and used it to grow their paper.