Statesman-Examiner Newspaper

Project Overview

Amber S. King – Creative Design partnered with the Statesman-Examiner, a long-standing regional newspaper serving northeastern Washington, to modernize its digital presence and publishing infrastructure. The goal was to create a robust, future-ready website that supports daily editorial operations while improving usability, discoverability, and long-term sustainability.

This project required balancing the needs of a traditional print publication with the demands of modern digital journalism — including structured content, submissions, advertising workflows, and search visibility.

Solution

The new Statesman-Examiner website was built on Wix Studio with a fully custom CMS architecture designed specifically for newspaper publishing. The system supports multiple content types and editorial workflows while remaining intuitive for staff to manage day-to-day operations.

Key features include:

Modular CMS collections for articles, obituaries, announcements, classifieds, letters to the editor, and events

Custom submission forms and automated workflows for public contributions

A dynamic events calendar with support for both free listings and paid featured event advertising

Responsive layouts optimized for desktop and mobile reading

Navigation and content organization designed to mirror real newsroom usage

SEO foundations including structured page hierarchy, meta descriptions, and image alt text

Advertising and classifieds infrastructure aligned with print and digital needs

Technical & Editorial Enhancements

Beyond the core site build, the project included advanced functionality to support real-world newsroom operations:

Custom classified pricing logic and calculators

Editorial content filtering and category controls

Breaking News system powered by a dedicated CMS

Custom weather widget integrated into the site header

Soft-launch workflow allowing internal testing before full public navigation

Refinement of historical content presentation and legacy article handling

Impact

The Statesman-Examiner now has a centralized digital platform that supports publishing, community engagement, and advertising in one cohesive system. The site is live, indexed by search engines, and operating as the newspaper’s primary online publishing platform.

The result is a modern, flexible foundation that allows the paper to continue serving its community while adapting to the evolving demands of digital journalism.

Services Provided

Website design & development
CMS architecture & workflows
SEO foundations
Editorial and submission systems
Advertising & classifieds infrastructure
Digital publishing optimization