Eko Atlantic: A WordPress Website on Microsoft Azure
Project overview: a two-month website launch
Eko Atlantic is a new city under construction on reclaimed land in Lagos. South Energyx asked us in late November 2012 to redesign and launch the website in two months. We delivered a WordPress site on Microsoft Azure on February 20, 2013, on time and on budget.
About Eko Atlantic
Eko Atlantic is a new city under construction on reclaimed land in Lagos. It is planned as home for 250,000 people and the workplace of another 150,000, on about ten square kilometers, with waterfront, tree-lined streets, transport, and mixed-use districts for homes, offices, and shops. South Energyx Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the Chagoury Group, oversees the planning and development.
Two months to replace a static site
In late November 2012, South Energyx asked Maxiom to redesign, redevelop, and launch the website in two months. The site they had was static and out of date. Changing content required a technical resource. The site had no meaningful search visibility and no social integration.
The new site had to carry the scale of the project, and South Energyx's own team had to be able to update it afterward.
WordPress on Microsoft Azure
We chose WordPress as the CMS and the blogging foundation. It is a content system editors can use, and it can be extended. Cloud hosting was part of keeping the site available and fast. The site runs on Microsoft Azure.
The build included:
- A full creative redesign and a WordPress theme.
- Responsive layout for phones and other screen sizes.
- Content migration and new content.
- Search engine optimization, implemented with the new information architecture.
- An image gallery.
- A video gallery for YouTube, Vimeo, and self-hosted video.
- An interactive timeline of project progress.
- A content delivery network for videos, images, and other assets.
- Object caching. Subsequent page views use the browser cache, pages start rendering quickly, and the server holds up when traffic spikes.
- Minify and HTTP compression of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and feeds.
- Automated nightly backups and disaster recovery.
- Permanent 301 redirects from the old URLs to the new structure.
- Ongoing support and maintenance.
Launch
The site launched on February 20, 2013, on time and on budget. With WordPress in place, South Energyx can change content and control the message. A taxonomy supports cross-linking and promotion on lower-level pages. SEO and social integration were part of the launch. Azure, the CDN, and the caching work are what let the site carry traffic the previous site could not.
Object caching yielded a 10x improvement in website performance. Minify and HTTP compression saved up to 80% of bandwidth.
A marketing site with a date on it
Need a marketing site live on a date you already have? We can take the design and the build, including the hosting, for real estate and development sites.
A marketing site with a hard launch date?
Tell us what has to be on the site, what the old URLs are, and the date it has to be live. On a 30-minute call we will tell you how we would build and host it.
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Why Maxiom?
- Software since 2002
- $100M+ in contract value
- 221+ clients
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Frequently asked questions
What did Maxiom do for Eko Atlantic?
We redesigned and redeveloped the website on WordPress, hosted it on Microsoft Azure, and launched it on February 20, 2013, on time and on budget.
What is Eko Atlantic?
Eko Atlantic is a new city under construction on reclaimed land in Lagos, planned as home for 250,000 people and the workplace of another 150,000. South Energyx Nigeria Limited, part of the Chagoury Group, oversees the development.
How long did the rebuild take?
South Energyx set the challenge in late November 2012: design, build, and launch in two months. The site launched on February 20, 2013.
What was wrong with the previous website?
It was static and out of date. Updating content required a technical person, search visibility was absent, and social channels were not integrated.
What did the new site include?
A responsive WordPress theme, image and video galleries, an interactive project timeline, SEO, a content delivery network, object caching, nightly backups, and 301 redirects from the old URLs.
What performance changes were measured?
Object caching yielded a 10x improvement in website performance. Minify and HTTP compression saved up to 80% of bandwidth.
Where is the site hosted?
On Microsoft Azure, with a content delivery network for images, video, and other assets, plus ongoing support and maintenance.
Can Maxiom launch a WordPress site on a fixed date?
Yes. Tell us the content, the old URLs that need redirects, and the launch date. Design is UI/UX design and the build is software development.