As the digital landscape continues to evolve at breakneck speed, so do the demands on newsrooms to deliver content faster, smarter, and across multiple platforms. Newsrooms 2.0, a new guide published by WordPress VIP and Big Bite, explores how media organisations around the world are leveraging WordPress to meet these challenges head-on.
Highlighting how newsrooms at The Times, Al Jazeera, and the New York Post have turned to WordPress to drive innovation and scale with ease, the guide offers key insights into why the open-source CMS is now the number one solution for news sites.
WordPress for publishers: From blogging to breaking news
First released as a simple blogging tool in 2003 – the same year that saw the launch of Skype, MySpace, and LinkedIn – WordPress has matured into the go-to platform for brands big and small, and today powers over 43% of the web. Fueled by milestone innovations such as the rollout of its block-based editor in 2018, which made content creation much more accessible for editorial teams, WordPress is now also relied on by a growing number of major news publishers, including Vox Media and News Corp.
“The impact of WordPress in the digital newsroom space has been transformative,” says Iain McPherson, chief growth officer of Big Bite – a leading enterprise WordPress agency based in the UK. “With its flexibility and ease of use, it has allowed some of the world’s most prestigious publications to adapt quickly and efficiently in a fast-changing digital environment, which is why we’ve seen a rapid rise in adoption – particularly over the last two years – and high-profile titles moving across to the open source CMS.”
Tackling industry-wide challenges
While many newsrooms still struggle with outdated, proprietary systems that can’t keep pace with the needs of modern journalism, WordPress has continued to expand and advance, offering solutions to the most pressing challenges.
In the race for clicks, views and subscriptions in a sector where social media is now a key competitor, one of the most significant advantages delivered by WordPress is speed. Since migrating to the platform, news organisations such as The Times have seen their time-to-publish improve by as much as 34% thanks to streamlined workflows that cut unnecessary steps, enabling titles to break stories faster than ever before.
As a highly extensible, secure, and scalable system, WordPress also gives newsrooms complete control of their CMS and its roadmap, allowing it to be tailored to meet specific user needs and business cases. Importantly, it also easily integrates with external systems, empowering brands to build best-of-breed tech stacks.
Redefining editorial workflows
More than just a platform for publishing content, WordPress is designed to make the day-to-day work of editorial teams easier through a combination of built-in functionality and custom plugins. Developed in partnership with editorial teams on the ground, such tools and features are helping newsrooms work more efficiently, giving journalists and editors the power to focus on creating quality content.
Luke Sikkema, News Corp’s director of newsroom transformation, CMS and publishing, shares the benefits of this approach: “The WordPress CMS built by Big Bite enables our editorial teams to interact with content in a much more visual way and publish captivating narratives in much quicker timeframes. It also facilitates collaboration better than any platform we’ve previously used.”
Since moving to WordPress in 2023, the UK’s oldest national daily newspaper – The Times – now trains new team members on the system in a matter of minutes rather than days, illustrating the intuitiveness of its custom-built solution.
Opening the door to next-gen tech
As well as streamlining the editorial process, WordPress is driving audience engagement thanks to an increasing number of news organisations using the platform’s flexibility to build cutting-edge features.
McPherson explains: “WordPress is much more than a CMS – it’s a platform that empowers brands to push the boundaries of digital publishing. We’ve seen this firsthand with features such as the live blogging tool we built on behalf of the New York Post, which enables non-technical journalists to create real-time event coverage and offers readers a dynamic, continuously updated news feed. Similarly, a specifications feature we developed for Gumtree provides site visitors with instant access to detailed product data – such as vehicle specs – enhancing the reader experience.
“AI solutions are also really exciting right now, particularly those that free up writers to focus on creating world class content. We’ve already launched a series of AI-powered tools that automate a wide range of manual tasks, and we’re working with brands to push the boundaries even further in the coming months.”
Securing long-term value
On top of the functional and operational advantages, cost is another key factor in WordPress’s rise in popularity across the news sector. By eliminating lofty licensing fees associated with alternative CMS platforms, organisations are able to allocate more resources toward development and innovation, rapidly evolving their CMS as their needs change. As a result, recent data shows that 74% of enterprise WordPress users reported a strong return on investment, and 91% plan to continue using the platform in the future – clear evidence of its value for long-term success.
“In an industry where speed, flexibility, and innovation are essential to staying competitive, WordPress has become the backbone of modern newsrooms” adds McPherson. “The guide we’ve produced in partnership with WordPress VIP not only showcases this, but also provides real-world insights into how media organisations can leverage WordPress to transform their workflows, engage audiences, and future-proof their digital strategies. Whether you’re managing breaking news or expanding your digital presence, WordPress equips brands with the tools to do it faster and smarter.”
Visit Big Bite to download your free copy of Newsrooms 2.0.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
