As reported by the Newspaper Society:
Scottish Provincial Press has moved all 15 of its newspaper sites on to the Iliffe-owned Portal Constructor content management suite. And Baylis Media has followed them to relaunch all six of its Berkshire-based newspaper websites.
Iliffe took in the Portal Constructor CMS as part of the acquisition of a Milton Keynes-based internet development company five years ago. Since then the publisher has totally redeveloped and expanded the system to suit the specific needs of regional newspaper publishers.
The core editorial web CMS comes with a range of integrated and interactive modules including an online directory, what’s on events listings, special offers, e-newsletters and forums. Further development plans scheduled for this year include a move into an integrated optimised mobile solution. The modules have a particular emphasis on a range of revenue generating features, Iliffe said.
Scottish Provincial Press took the Portal Constructor suite as a replacement for its internal editorial system supplied CMS, while Baylis replaced a third party CMS solution.
Thelma Henderson, Scottish Provincial Press managing director, has cited the move as instrumental in helping to grow the group’s online revenues. She said: “Our priority was in finding a fresh new look that reflected the current digital market with improved functionality. Iliffe has not only delivered this but their digital team has become a key partner in helping to develop our own online publishing business.
“The partnership has been particularly beneficial in that it has brought us essential new commercial platforms.”
Jeremy Spooner, Baylis Media chief executive, said the move had brought welcome efficiencies to the way journalists manage their websites, and the new partnership had brought other “exciting opportunities.”
He said: “Working with the Iliffe Digital team and the Portal Constructor CMS system has enabled us to launch new online advertising platforms that can and will be monetised.”
Andy Gough, managing director of Iliffe Digital, said: “The development of our Portal Constructor CMS has focused on providing us with an integrated online solution with the emphasis placed on commercial opportunities.
“We are delighted that this has been recognised by other regional press groups and their active take-up is helping us to feed further new ideas for revenue generating feature development within the system.
“As a result, these partnerships are turning out to be beneficial to all parties involved.”
