Project Intro
Project Intro
Archaeology.org, the online presence of Archaeology Magazine, has long been a go-to destination for history lovers, researchers, and curious readers
exploring the ancient past. But behind the scenes, the site’s legacy Drupal architecture was starting to show its age—slowing editorial workflows, limiting ad
strategy, and making new features feel like excavation projects of their own.
CMYK partnered with the Archaeology team to completely redesign and rebuild the site from the ground up. We transitioned the platform from Drupal to
WordPress, streamlining publishing, improving performance, and laying the foundation for a more agile, modern experience. In parallel, we introduced a
fresh visual design system rooted in editorial elegance, revamped their advertising infrastructure, and implemented a seamless paywall to support
subscription growth and future monetization.
highlights
highlights
We reimagined the visual design to bring Archaeology’s stunning photography to the forefront, giving images the space and prominence they deserve across
articles, features, and galleries. The new layout emphasizes visual storytelling while improving content discovery, surfacing long-form archives, field reports,
and multimedia features through curated modules and dynamic navigation. The result is a site that invites readers to explore both the latest headlines and
the deep, fascinating layers beneath.
Ad Strategy
Ad Strategy
We rebuilt the ad strategy from the ground up, striking a balance between performance and user experience. By introducing smarter, more strategically
placed ad units—integrated seamlessly into the design—we increased available inventory without overwhelming the editorial content. The result was a nearly
400% jump in ad impressions, translating directly to a major lift in revenue, all while keeping the reading experience clean, elegant, and uninterrupted.
To deepen engagement and drive cross-site exploration, we introduced a robust recommendation engine that surfaces related articles, thematic collections,
and trending features at key moments in the reading journey. Strategic prompts encourage magazine subscriptions and email sign-ups, while contextual
callouts connect users to the broader mission of the Archaeological Institute of America—inviting them to discover digs, events, and educational resources
beyond the magazine. The site is no longer just a destination—it’s a dynamic ecosystem of exploration.
As part of the platform migration, we transitioned the site from Drupal to WordPress, carefully importing and organizing over two decades of articles,
features, and multimedia content. We built a custom archival system to house Archaeology’s complete magazine history, enabling readers to access issues
dating back to the publication’s inception. The result is a modern, flexible CMS with a fully preserved digital legacy—future-proofed and easily managed by
the editorial team.
We developed a custom paywall system fully integrated with Archaeology’s magazine fulfillment provider, ensuring a seamless experience for existing print
subscribers. Users can easily renew their subscriptions and unlock premium digital content, including the full magazine archive. The system also paved the
way for new digital-only subscribers—opening up an entirely new revenue stream while honoring the loyalty of long-time readers.
