Unveiling new website redesign

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Wellington Advertiser, one of Ontario's largest independent community newspapers, today launched a completely redesigned website, marking a significant investment in the publication's digital future and its ongoing commitment to accessible local journalism.

The comprehensive overhaul represents far more than a visual refresh. The publication has migrated from WordPress to Ghost.org, a specialized publishing platform designed for independent publishers, enabling enhanced performance and new reader engagement capabilities.

"This has been a monumental undertaking," said Drew Mochrie, the newspaper's website administrator, who led the technical migration. "We're talking about moving more than 70,000 news posts to a new platform while maintaining the integrity of every story. Beyond that, we've made accessible more than 50 years of newspaper archives, which readers can now access through a subscription. This is about preserving history while building for the future."

The redesign project, which began this past summer, focused on improving user experience, site performance, and reader connectivity. The new platform delivers significantly faster load times and streamlined navigation, addressing longstanding performance issues with the previous site.

"As one of the largest independent publishers in Ontario, we see tremendous value in serving our community with accessible news," said Publisher Dave Adsett, who leads the family-owned business. "This is a substantial investment in continuing our legacy of providing top-quality local journalism free to the public. While many publications are scaling back, we're doubling down on our commitment to Wellington County."

The new website will soon introduce enhanced digital services, including the ability to order, upload images, and purchase classified ads and family notices online – features designed to make the newspaper more accessible and user-friendly for both readers and advertisers.

"The job of reworking this website has been intensive, but we're pleased to see that the hard work has paid off," Adsett added. "Users should find the site much more responsive than they're accustomed to. We're interested in community feedback as we continue to refine the experience."

Additional features are planned for rollout in coming weeks, including a weekly newsletter allowing readers to stay current with local news directly from their inbox. The publication is also exploring enhanced multimedia storytelling capabilities and improved mobile optimization.

The investment comes at a time when community journalism faces significant headwinds nationally, making the Wellington Advertiser's expansion particularly noteworthy. The publication's commitment to digital innovation while maintaining free access to news content demonstrates the viability of independent, community-focused journalism.

"There may be some kinks and tweaks as we settle into the new platform," Mochrie acknowledged, "but the foundation we've built positions us to serve readers better for decades to come. We're excited about what this enables us to do."

Community members are encouraged to explore the new website and provide feedback as the publication continues to enhance its digital presence.