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SO LONDON CMS and Website Design Case Study

SO LONDON Publishing CMS and Website Design

www.solondon.co.uk, created by SynergiDesign, is the website counterpart of the prestigious, new lifestyle magazine 'SO LONDON' with award winning writers and an international readership including affluent Londoners, launched in the spring of 2007.

The contract for this high profile, technically advanced website was achieved by Birmingham based SynergiDesign through competitive tendering against many experienced web and CMS developers.

About SO LONDON CMS and Website Design

SO LONDON's directors include highly respected members of the media world such as Mike Ironside, a member of the Advertising Standards Authority since 2001. Mike Ironside has 30 years' experience in marketing, advertising and the media including senior management responsibilities at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday and a London-based advertising and marketing consultancy.

The magazine's editor is Christena Appleyard, a distinguished journalist who is well-known for the original conception of 'Weekend', the Mail's outstanding Saturday TV and Features magazine. Ms Appleyard edited 'Weekend' for some time before leaving for a period at The Times after which she returned to the Mail for a relaunch of Night and Day. Christena Appleyard is also a renowned and well-travelled travel writer.

The magazine, and of course its website, targets an international readership that includes some of the wealthiest people in the UK, Europe, the USA and the Middle East. Published fortnightly, the magazine and website feature articles on contemporary issues such as:

  • Property
  • Art, Books and Music
  • Food and Wine
  • Travel
  • Luxury items
  • Philanthropy
  • Personal opinion

Featured advertisers include:

  • Porsche
  • Lexus
  • Armani

The SO LONDON website produces a complete version of the print-based publication online, renewing content on a weekly basis through its high-specification content management system (CMS).

SO LONDON Publishing Website design brief

SynergiDesign have created an innovative, versatile and highly functional Content Management System and website for SO LONDON Publishing. The website and bespoke content management software are designed to the highest .Net 2 framework and CSS programming standards which allow for online management of the magazine including:

  • magazine issue management
  • articles and article ranking
  • image management
  • image auto optimisation and resizing
  • complex banner advert management

Software technical specification requirements analysis

After award of the development of the CMS (Content Management System) software we carried out a full appraisal of SO LONDON's software requirement by analysis of their practical systems, the process of how the printed magazine would operate, advised on opportunites that could be exploited on the website and whatever would make the CMS as close to their way of working to ensure it was as straightforward to use as possible.

We produced a technical specification document that outlined the development process and specified all of the functionality that would be required in detail to ensure it met SO LONDON's needs. This formed the basis of software development and has led to the success of the software.

We drove this process to take as much burden off the SO LONDON team as possible.

Other website services provided include:

The criteria set by the SO LONDON management team have been integrated into a site designed to high standards of technical efficiency and attractiveness. The website design reflects the sophistication and aspirations of SO LONDON as a catalyst for affluent society, promoting it as a dynamic property search and selection site and informed knowledge repository. The development of an effective content management system (CMS) was key to this project.

The SO LONDON/SynergiDesign partnership

The business qualifications and experience of the SynergiDesign team inspired the confidence of the SO LONDON management team to leave the development of the website largely to them, enabling the management team to concentrate on the print version.

The launch of the magazine and website were tied to a tight deadline and necessitated SynergiDesign meeting rigorous targets to allow the joint launch to take place smoothly and successfully.

Find out more below about Content Management Systems (CMS) bespoke software development

Find out more about our Web Applications

We are expert Web Software Developers:

About SynergiDesign

SynergiDesign is a qualified and experienced professional Birmingham based website and creative design agency which has created many stunning websites for a variety of businesses and organisations all over the UK.

SynergiDesign are experts in the web site and corporate design field. We offer a complete range of internet marketing and associated services: creating a brand and logo; design and print; website development; eCommerce; search engine optimisation (SEO); flash animation; video; website hosting and domain name management.

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  • articles and article ranking
  • image management
  • image auto optimisation and resizing
  • complex banner advert management

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  • Registration System