7 brands, 1 system: building seamless workflows for Recurrent Ventures with WordPress

With streamlined design systems, standardized workflows, and fewer technical headaches, we’ve helped Recurrent transform into a nimble and efficient global media operation using WordPress. Their teams are now equipped to focus on what matters: delivering standout content across their growing collection of digital properties.

A large-scale migration

We consolidated a web of outdated CMSs - some 9+ years old - into a single platform.

Operational efficiency up by 89%

We developed a unified design system that's been deployed across 7 brands so far, saving countless hours of process-related headaches.

Platform approach

We built once, then deployed across the network - while keeping each brand feeling fresh and unique.

The
challenge

Recurrent Ventures, a leading digital media company, struggled with an outdated and fragmented tech infrastructure. Brands like Bob Vila, Outdoor Life, Popular Science, and The Drive were hampered by inconsistent designs, a bevy of outdated CMSs, and fragmented workflows across multiple systems (Drupal, WordPress, Custom/Headless), creating daily challenges for their editorial teams.

If that project wasn’t complex already, one of the biggest challenges for us came midway through the project when we received the request to expedite our timeline. Now, we were tasked with launching all sites by July, months ahead of the original multi-year plan."

Our
solution

We worked with Recurrent to uncover the root cause of daily headaches – their fragmented CMS infrastructure presented challenges to their entire business, dragging down efficiencies across Editorial, Marketing and Operational teams.

Designing a single system that would work for Recurrent’s many unique brands – and their respective teams – would be a challenge, but our experts rolled up their sleeves and delivered a creative solution.

We developed a unified platform on WordPress VIP to support all brands under Recurrent Ventures. The platform allowed us to design a system that could be customized for each brand and deployed efficiently, while still maintaining each brand’s unique look and feel.

How
it's going

Operational efficiency
is up by 89%

You read that right. One design system applied across 9 brands and counting has radically improved daily workflows, making it simple to design once and deploy everywhere. Recurrent’s editorial teams are equipped with everything they need to make publishing content faster, easier, and more flexible.

Core Web
Vitals are strong

In a universally challenging time for digital media, Core Web Vitals across Recurrent sites have been maintained or improved. After migration, Core Web Vitals are passing, thanks to a 30% reduction in FCP and 85% reduction in CLS load times. Healthy Core Web Vitals lead to better search engine placement, more engagement and ultimately, better business fundamentals.

Ready
to scale

The modular system we implemented allows Recurrent to deploy new features across all brands with minimal effort—and without the constant expense of tech support.

Service Provided

CMS migration

Custom design

Full-stack web development

UI / UX design

We're a different kind of agency

With over 20 years of collective web development & engineering experience, we understand first-hand how difficult and frustrating it can be to launch anything online. What should take 1 month can often take 9. With the proper team, alignment around goals and objectives, and a detailed roadmap, we’re able to sweat the small stuff, so you don’t have to.

Let’s succeed together

Too often, agencies take direction without asking why. We do things differently by working closely with our clients to understand the real goals behind the brief. This way, we’re able to stay aligned on what matters, make smarter decisions, and build solutions that actually serve the business — not just the to-do list.

Our process for success

We act as strategic partners to our clients. We focus on working with them to streamline their workflows while hitting aggressive launch timelines.

1. Start with strategy

We take time to understand business goals, timeline, and budgets to build a plan that will achieve all three.

2. Execute & deliver

It's simple — our clients know that they can rely on us to do what we say we're going to do, on time, and do it right.

3. Celebrate & optimize

Our work doesn't end at launch. We support ongoing optimizations, upgrades, and reporting to help maximize investment over time.