Designing a High-Impact CMS Website for Local News Publishing

Services Provided

UX UI Design CMS Web Development

Industry

Local News & Publishing

Solution Type

CMS-Driven News Website

Problem Statement

Social House News, a platform delivering positive local news, needed a robust digital presence to engage readers, streamline content publishing, and scale their reach in the Metro-Detroit region.

To maintain credibility, attract a larger audience, and simplify editorial workflows, Social House News required a modern, CMS-driven website that prioritized content discoverability, performance, and editorial ease-of-use.

The Challenges with their existing setup included:

A layout that made it difficult for users to quickly find trending or category-specific stories

Limited visual hierarchy and storytelling for high-impact news presentation

Performance and mobile responsiveness issues affecting user experience and SEO

Designed Around Community Storytelling

Through discovery workshops and research, we identified key moments where engagement breaks down when users search for trending topics, explore categories like business or sports, or browse news on mobile.

A Homepage That Thinks Like a Reader

We redesigned the experience to prioritize relevance and discovery.

The new structure highlighted trending, latest, and community-favorite stories. Clear content blocks and visual hierarchy guided readers naturally. Clean typography and intuitive layouts improved readability and scanning behavior.

Readers could now explore by category, location, or interest—turning passive browsing into active engagement.

A Homepage That Thinks Like a Reader Mobile

Editorial Speed Without Complexity

Publishing news should never slow down the newsroom.

We implemented a scalable, user-friendly CMS that allowed editors and contributors to create, edit, and publish content rapidly. Workflows became structured yet flexible, enabling faster updates and smoother collaboration across teams

Built for Performance and Reach

We developed a fully responsive platform optimized for performance, caching, and fast image delivery. Lightweight architecture ensured smooth navigation across devices.