New WordPress site build: Scottish Council on Global Affairs
This site – a new build in, of course, WordPress – was built to a very tight deadline. And we used a theme. There, we said it. It’s still GeneratePress and GenerateBlocks but the starting point was based on an example from their ‘site library’. It would now not be recognised by its mother, but the skeleton was not built from the ground (well, the below-ground foundations) up like most of our sites are.
Nothing wrong with that, of course. It’s just that we like to work close to the metal to be sure that there are no problems lurking in the plumbing. To put it another way – we build our own themes and don’t use off-the-shelf ones.
So, about the website
The site, in terms of content, is now maintained by the SCGA team but we’re still onboard for hosting issues, email, security and all things WordPress and Plugins in terms of updates, backups and maintenance.
Initially the SCGA editor was not using an Administrator login and was creating new Posts either from scratch or cloning an existing Post and adapting it; this is the way we most often work with clients – they can put out as many Posts as they want, but changes to Pages, Navigation and ‘behind the scenes’ aspects are all carried out by us.
We simplify the menu that editors see when logged in, hiding as many non-relevant entries and sections as possible. We then try to ensure that there are not dozens of never-to-be-used blocks and elements showing, trying to focus on what’s needed and little else.
The SCGA editor had WordPress experience and is now using an Administrator login meaning they can touch pretty much all parts of the site – should they want to! We have a multi-level backup system in place with automatic updates triggered prior to any core or plugin updates.
Site features
- Custom form for user-submitted content
- Login protection and 2FA security
- ‘How-to’ videos on client dashboard
- Customised embedded forms
- Clutter-free user dashboard
- Double opt-in mailing lists
- Mobile-speed optimised
- Nested ‘Mega Menu’ for main site navigation
- Embedded and downloadable PDFs
- Rich graphical content slider
