Media Gazette; built for an audience of millions

More than a media blog

The independent media platform has been around since 2006 and was therefore ready for a new look. However, the core obviously had to remain the same. Providing news from the radio and TV world in a clear manner. The user-friendliness of the site is also of paramount importance. Users can therefore easily navigate between articles and are guided to the content without too many unnecessary buttons and distractions. A style choice that characterizes Mediacourant. Not too loud, but clear and direct. And also easy to manage by the editors.

This did not happen without a fight. After all, users quickly become attached to a platform, even if the roof is leaking and there is a hole in the floor. The design of the platform has therefore been the same for years. And therefore also a bit outdated. Mediacourant was, and is, a household name in the media world, where the community is particularly critical. So it was not easy to develop a new acceptable platform.

A number of things we had to take into account with this project:

The website must be able to handle enormous peaks in visitor numbers with ease
Easy to manage content via WordPress Gutenberg blocks
Give users the opportunity to interact with the website
Recognizable for returning users

Millions and millions and millions

With millions of visitors per week, Mediacourant can call itself a real heavyweight in terms of visitor numbers. As a platform builder and hosting partner, we had to take this seriously into account when developing the new WordPress website. Particularly when a new media riot is on the horizon, the site must remain online at all times. Good hosting is therefore necessary for the platform.

This way, we are the first to know if there is any scheming in the media world, because visitor numbers are skyrocketing and, from a hosting perspective, it is immediately “all hands on deck”.

For; the Mediacourant site before we took care of it

After; a strict layout of all components. Navigating has become easier and there is a dark mode.

Action reaction

One of the attractions of the platform is that it is interactive. Part of this was being able to post comments on posted articles. Media Gazette owner Bob Willer and his editors often had a day's work moderating all responses. As a result, he did not get enough time for what the site was intended for, the content. As a partner of Mediacourant, we introduced various moderation systems to offer the editors the most efficient solution possible. Unfortunately, cross-border reactions remained a persistent problem.

“We have been discussing with our technical partner for some time about ways to better protect Mediacourant against these types of comments. Various moderation systems have been tested in recent months, with varying degrees of success.” Willer already indicated this some time ago.

But while in the past users still had the option to post a comment, we eventually had to remove this feature in consultation with Mediacourant. For example, a message about singer Gordon in February 2021 meant that we had to drastically adjust the site. Something that users considered a loss.

Mediacourant has undergone a major metamorphosis, but has still remained familiar. A user-friendly and sleek platform has been developed that is easy to manage.

The short lines of communication and good consultation with Van Ons ensured a pleasant production process.
Bob Willer, editor-in-chief Mediacourant

mood making

But to provide the user with some interaction, we have built a module into the site that allows the administrator to set up polls. These polls can easily be used on any page and under any article.

This way the user can still let us know what he thinks of an article. And with thousands of votes per article, interaction with the website appears to be an important element of Mediacourant. In addition, the polls provide direct insight into the popularity of the articles on the website.

Big bigger Biggest

We at Van Ons no longer turn a blind eye when such a party comes to us for a project for millions of users. Mediacourant is such a project, and we have provided it with a super-fast platform that has all the bells and whistles you expect from a media platform. Moreover, a platform that must be able to withstand a blow and is built on the necessary consternation that the media landscape brings. So that the gossip-loving user can scroll for hours, days, weeks without interruption.