The problem
Storage-backup.com is an Italian online magazine for people who buy and run storage, backup and data protection systems. It publishes vendor news, product launches, customer cases and event coverage. Almost all of that material arrives as press releases from manufacturers, so the site had to take in a steady flow of news, keep it in order by company, and give sponsors a place to be seen.
What I built
I built the magazine on WordPress and shaped it around a large, growing archive.
- One category per vendor — every article sits under the company it is about (EMC, IBM, NetApp, Acronis, DataCore, Western Digital and many more), so a reader can follow one brand over the years. The January 2013 sitemap lists 152 categories.
- A deep, indexed archive — the same sitemap lists 1,849 articles and 1,430 tag pages, with the oldest entries dated 2007.
- Publishing by email — with Postie, an editor can turn an incoming press release into a post by forwarding it to a mailbox. Routine news takes minutes, not a session in the admin.
- Google News sitemap — a dedicated news sitemap next to the standard XML sitemap, so new articles reach search engines quickly.
- Sponsor banners — an ad manager rotates banners from storage vendors and trade events, backed by Sponsor and Media Partner pages for advertisers.
- Reader tools — related articles, view counters, photo galleries and a lighter mobile version for phones.
Built with
WordPress in Italian, first with a free magazine theme and later with Twenty Twelve, All in One SEO Pack, Google XML Sitemaps, Google News Sitemap, Postie, Advertising Manager, NextGEN Gallery, Yet Another Related Posts Plugin, WP-PostViews, MobilePress and WP-DB-Backup.
