Supercharging the higher education publisher experience

First established in 1906 and moving online in 2010, the Harvard Gazette serves as the official news source for Harvard University. It covers a wide range of topics, including university announcements, interviews with professors, scientific research, community news, and even updates on Remy, the campus cat. The Harvard Gazette sends out a daily email to more than 300,000 subscribers and offers a section called News+, where publishers from different Harvard schools can share their stories with a broader audience.

The team wanted to move away from the WordPress classic editor and toward using Gutenberg blocks for bespoke layouts, empowering editorial users to create a wider variety of stunning designs quickly and easily. The site was also required to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements, ensuring that every user was able to enjoy the Gazette’s content seamlessly. And with over 25,000 pieces of content, some dating back to the late 1990s, the Harvard Gazette project was no small task for the teams involved.

Redesigning the Harvard Gazette

The total redesign of the site was entirely focused on improved UX, UI, and accessibility. The enhanced usability of the site, coupled with performance improvements, means the Harvard Gazette site is ready to help the Harvard teams continue reaching their aims and delivering the stories that matter most to their audience communities.  

A supercharged publisher experience and improved user experience was delivered thanks to the creation of a much more user-friendly publishing interface. 

An enhanced and streamlined publishing workflow was made possible by using Gutenberg blocks and block patterns as the foundational building components. What’s more, strict adherence to WCAG 2.1 accessibility requirements means every user will have a seamless experience—exactly as it should be.

Key Stats for the Harvard Gazette

“It was important for us to make the new experience really engaging. Our discovery and design phases were awesome!”

– Molly Miles, Digital Project Manager, Harvard Gazette